


The Past - Sequel to The Sight

by Dextrousleftie



Category: Pet Shop of Horrors
Genre: Amusement Park, Anal Sex, Bonding, Fluff and Angst, Gay Romance, Gay Sex, Hand Job, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Love, Lust, M/M, Oral Sex, Pets, Pregnancy, Supernatural - Freeform, Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-19
Updated: 2017-01-14
Packaged: 2018-09-09 21:54:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 14
Words: 39,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8914288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dextrousleftie/pseuds/Dextrousleftie
Summary: Lord D has come to see his father and son, neither of whom are particularly happy about it. Nor is he happy to discover that they are mated - TO HUMANS! Everyone is miserable, until a rather odd young human enters Lord d's life. Can this Stephen help him to get over a terrible trauma from his past, heal and move on? Or will he remain broken  forever?





	1. Chapter 1

Silence fell in the shop, a silence fraught with tension. The two Kami stared at one another, their eyes locking. Finally Sofu said tightly: “It has been a very long time, my son.”

Lord D nodded coldly. “That’s right, Father. A very long time, indeed.”

The older Kami asked quietly: “Why did you choose this time to come here? You have never shown any interest in this shop before,” the intonations in his voice were not lost on the younger Kami. 

He smiled sourly. “Perhaps I thought that it was time to make a closer acquaintance with my younger child,” he replied.

Sofu’s shoulders tensed. “I see,” he said tonelessly. 

Lord D glanced around the shop. “Where is he, by the way?”

The older Kami clasped his hands together in front of him tightly. “He is in the back, attending to the animals,” Sofu said.

“Ahh. You taught him well, then. And I’m sure that the adult product is much more to your liking than I am,” Lord D replied caustically. 

Sofu sighed, bending his head a little. “I have always loved you, my son, no matter what you may think,” the older Kami said sadly. 

Silence again, then the younger Kami also sighed. “I’ve no doubt of that, Father,” he said more gently. “If anything it is I who have failed you, not the other way around.”

“But…” Sofu started to protest this statement, but Lord D waved at him with one slim hand. 

“Never mind,” he said impatiently. “Let us discuss something more interesting. This pregnancy of yours, for example,” he eyed his parent’s still-slender waist assessingly. “How far along are you? And who is the father?”

Sofu looked reluctant to answer this question. But finally he sighed again, and replied: “A little over two months. And the father is my bonded mate…a human named Daniel White Horse.”

“A human,” the younger Kami’s voice was flat. “You are mated to a human. That surprises me, Father.”

Sofu lifted his head proudly. “It surprised me as well, my son, but Daniel is a good man. The bond between us is true, as I well know. While I would never have expected my life's mate to be a human being, I am not sorry now that it has happened.”

“Hmm,” Lord D’s lip curled a little. “I can’t wait to meet this mate of yours,” he said, making anxiety flash in the golden eyes. 

“Remember that ours is as mating for life, my son,” Sofu said sharply. “If something happens to him, most likely I will die, as well.”

The younger Kami looked amused. “Don’t be frightened, Father; I won’t harm this mate of yours. I am simply curious to meet a human who could change your mind about that foul race. He must be extraordinary, indeed.”

Sofu’s mouth thinned, but he did not reply to this outrageous statement. Just then, soft footsteps were heard as D came into the front of the shop. “Grandfather…” he began, speaking to the older Kami. But he froze in his tracks as he caught sight of the other Kami standing in the shop near the door, the one with the purple eyes. “Father?” he said in a numb, shocked tone of voice. 

“My son,” Lord D looked his offspring over assessingly. “You certainly have changed a great deal since I saw you last. You’re an adult now,” he added, looking at his son’s aura thoughtfully.

D lifted his head proudly, his mouth compressing a little. “That’s right, Father,” he said in a voice that he refused to let waver. “I am. And as an adult, let me welcome you to our shop,” He let the subtle nuances in the word ‘our’ tell his sire that he meant Sofu and himself, not the other Kami. 

Lord D’s nostrils flared slightly, but he smiled thinly at his son. “I am pleased to be here,” he replied coolly, “Especially since I am now aware that I will have a sibling in a little less than a year. That was a surprise to me,” he added with a rebuking look at his father, who became suddenly interested in the shelves lining the wall not far away. 

The younger Kami looked perplexed for a moment. “I thought that you’d told him, Grandfather…” he said to his relative in puzzlement.

Sofu sighed. “I was going to inform him of my condition eventually,” he replied in a voice that was just as cool as Lord D’s. 

A breath of laughter escaped his son’s lips. “Of course you were,” he murmured sardonically. “But now that I do know, I am very much looking forward to meeting my father’s human mate.” 

D took in a sharp breath, his hands catching in the silk of his cheongsam. “Father,” he said, and his tone of voice caught Lord D’s attention.

“What is it?” the older Kami asked, looking at his son out of questioning purple eyes.

“You should know…that I have mated, as well.” D’s voice wavered a bit, but he stood his ground and met those purple eyes head on.

Lord D blinked. “I see,” he said again. “When did this happen?”

The younger Kami replied: “Over six months ago, as I was first entering into puberty. I had known the person I mated with for some time before this, but the bonding only asserted itself once my body awakened.”

“Ahh. And something tells me that I will not be particularly happy about your mating either. Or am I wrong?” Lord D asked.

“I…Leon is a human male, a homicide detective,” D said.

Cool silence fell once more. “Interesting,” Lord D remarked at last. “And when will I have the privilege of meeting YOUR mate, my son?” he asked, making D flinch a bit. 

“Leon will be coming home tonight about seven,” the younger Kami said.

“Home. Very well, I shall be happy to wait until this evening to meet your mates. I cannot wait, actually,” Lord D said. Sofu and D exchanged unhappy glances, but there was nothing that either of them could do. It would be unbearably rude to ask Lord D to leave, especially when he was Sofu’s son and D’s father. But that didn’t mean that they had to like it. 

 

 

Leon Orcot was starting to get into his car, when he paused. A frown passed over the blonde’s face. He was receiving some strong emotions from his mate D – most of them negative ones. The Kami was unconsciously projecting unhappiness through their bond, as well as stress over something. The detective got into the car, and turned to look at his partner. “Hey, Jill, would you mind if we swing by the shop for a minute? Something’s happening there. D feels miserable all of a sudden, I just want to know why.”

The pretty female in the tight red skirt grinned a bit at her partner. It tickled her fancy that Leon was mated to a male spirit, especially a beautiful one like Count D. And she also found it amusing that Leon could catch feelings from his mate through the bond they shared, since Leon was a very manly sort of guy – or had been until he'd mated with D. The male he’d been before would never have admitted to having feelings if he could help it, let alone the fact that he was worried about his mate. She nodded. “Yeah, let’s head over there. We have time. Let’s go see what’s got D worked up.” Leon started the engine and pulled into traffic, heading toward Chinatown.

 

 

At almost the same time, Lieutenant Daniel White Horse was working on some paperwork at his desk. Suddenly, he looked up as a flow of emotions reached him through his bond with Sofu. It was such an amalgamation of feelings that he couldn’t quite sort them out. He caught sadness, pain, guilt, joy, love, and a thread of anger. And that was just the ones that were on top of this stream. The Native American man frowned as he sat back in his chair. What could have caused this sudden influx of contradictory emotions? Sofu had been humming along all day in full ‘impending motherhood’ mode, and his emotions had been serene and calm. This had been his mood for the last few months, actually, so this sudden change took Daniel by complete surprise. What was going on? 

He set his pen down and rose to his feet. He’d keep his radio on, so if a call came through for his squad to go out he’d hear it and be able to respond quickly. He strode out of the station, telling the desk clerk that he was on his way home for a family emergency. Since most of the people at the station thought that he was ‘married’ to that beautiful pregnant Chinese ‘woman’, the clerk merely smiled at what he presumed was a sudden craving run. Daniel let him think that, making his way out of the station and toward his truck. He dug his keys out of his pocket. It shouldn’t take more than a half an hour to get to Chinatown, and to discover what had caused Sofu’s sudden ‘mood swing’, and he could be back at work in under an hour. He climbed into his truck and started the engine, planning on slapping the light on top of his roof so that he could beat traffic. Technically he shouldn’t be doing that - but where his pregnant mate was concerned, Daniel White Horse had very few scruples at all. 

 

 

Both he and Leon drove up to the shop almost together, Daniel arriving only a few minutes after the blonde detective. The two men eyed each other as they got out of their vehicles, and Jill looked from one to the other with a grin on her face. “What are you doing here, Daniel?” Leon asked.

The Native American man replied calmly, “The same thing that you are, I’ll bet. Sofu suddenly got upset about something out of the blue. I just wanted to swing by and make sure that everything is okay.”

Leon nodded. “Me too. D is freaking out over something, I can feel it. Let’s go find out about what,” he made for the shop with Jill and Daniel at his heels, pushing through the door. His ‘D sense’ led him unerringly to the beads that hung over the door into the sitting room, and he lifted them so that he could walk into the other room. He saw two Kamis sitting on the couches drinking tea – no, make that three…he blinked as he became aware that a third, nearly identical, Kami was occupying the couch near Sofu, with D across from them. A head turned, and he saw a lovely porcelain face with an expression so cold that it could have been a mask carved out of marble. A pair of purple eyes stared at him, and they narrowed as their owner took him in. The glossy black hair was even longer than Sofu’s, falling nearly half-way down the Kami’s back in a tail held by a silver clasp. Except for the hair and eye color, this guy could be D and Sofu’s identical triplet. Leon stared at the Kami as he came into the room.

D instantly brightened up at the sight of him. “Leon!” he cried, rising to his feet and coming to his mate quickly. 

The blonde caught his mate up in his arms, not caring about the chilly purple stare being directed at him. “Hey, D, honey,” he said into a small ear. “What the hell is going on? Who’s he?” he nodded at the purple-eyed Kami, as Sofu rose to his own feet and made for Daniel with a look of relief on his pointed face. 

“Daniel,” he breathed, and the SWAT commander gently hugged his mate, as he too stared at the still seated Kami thoughtfully.

D sighed as he pulled back a little from Leon’s embrace. “Leon,” he said, “Daniel, Jill,” he acknowledged the human female standing quietly behind Daniel, “I would like you all to meet my father, Lord D. Father, this is my mate Leon Orcot, Grandfather’s mate Daniel White Horse, and Leon’s partner, Jill.”

Leon glanced from D’s lovely face, to his father’s. He could now feel that the source of his mate’s unhappiness was the Kami sitting on the couch. The weird thing was, it was occurring to him that neither D nor Sofu talked that much about this Lord D at all. This omission was starting to look significant now, since it seemed that neither of the Kamis was happy to see their relative show up at the shop. And from the constipated expression on D’s dad’s face, that wasn’t surprising to him. The guy had a decidedly pinched mouth. He was looking at the humans like he’d discovered something smelly under his shoe. The distaste in his purple eyes was clear. The detective felt annoyance spurt through him. Why had this creep shown up here? To upset his father and son? To be a pain in the ass? He feared that both things were true, even as he said aloud: “Hi. Nice to meet you,” his voice made it clear that this statement was patently untrue, and Lord D smiled thinly. 

“And it is, of course, my great pleasure to meet you both,” he replied with false courtesy. "I was overjoyed to discover that both my father and my son had found their mates – and within six months of each other. It’s a miracle,” he went on sarcastically.

Leon threw an arm over D’s tense shoulders. “Yeah, it is,” he agreed, baring his teeth at the Kami in a pretense of a smile. 

Lord D finally got to his feet smoothly. “I look forward to making your further acquaintance, Leon Orcot,” he said as he rounded the couch. “I’m sure that we shall become good friends during my stay here.”

“Your stay?” Leon repeated, not liking the sound of this at all. 

Lord D bared his teeth in his own patently false smile. “That is correct. I came to spend some time with my son, and was pleasantly surprised to find that my father will be giving birth to a brother or sister for me. So I have decided to stay here until after the child is born.”

Leon felt his heart sinking. How the hell was he supposed to put up with somebody like this for a year?! Maybe more, since who knew how long this Lord D intended to stay after Sofu’s kid was born? His mind raced as he sought a good excuse for sending D’s father on his way, but nothing came to mind. The guy was family, after all, even if the other Kamis themselves didn’t seem too happy about his arrival. But Daniel spoke up behind him. The older man’s deep voice had a thread of steel in it. “Lord D,” he said to the Kami, who met his amber eyes head-on when he spoke. Their gazes clashed, as the human said in arctic tones: “If you continue to cause a problem for Sofu and D, or you upset them further, I will be throwing you out of this shop on your bony ass. I don’t care that you’re Sof’s family. And since I bonded with him, I’m strong enough to do it. Keep that in mind, because you have my word that I will do just as I said, if I’m not happy with your behavior.”

A stunned silence fell, as Lord D gaped at Daniel. Clearly he wasn’t used to humans speaking to him that way. Sofu’s golden eyes were wide, but there was a gleam of admiration in them as he looked at his mate. D’s mouth was open so far, that Leon had the sudden urge to put his fingers under the lovely Kami’s chin and close it for him. He gave Daniel an admiring glance, as well. He should have thought of that. The Native American’s handsome face could have been carved from stone at the moment, and his amber eyes had narrowed. This was the man who went into dangerous situations every day - and it was clear that he did mean every word he said. Lord D pulled himself together after a moment, recovering his dignity and air of arrogance again. 

“”Very well, Daniel White Horse,” he said, saving face as well as he could, “I shall of course do my best not to upset my father during his pregnancy. And since my motive for coming here was to get to know my son better, why would I want to upset him? You have my word that I shall…behave myself during my stay,” there was a knife’s edge tone to his voice, and his purple eyes held a glitter of dislike and outright hate as he stared at Daniel’s implacable face.

But the human responded to his words, not his expression, nodding as he accepted Lord D’s word. “Then you’re welcome here,” the Native American man said. The underlying silent addendum ‘for now’ was heard and understood by everybody in the room.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sofu tells Leon and Daniel about Lord D's past, and why he is the way he is.

Leon looked at the people gathered in the sitting room. Lord D had gone to his room to unpack his things, and the boys were playing in one of the many mysterious 'back rooms' that abounded in the pet shop. The blonde detective didn't ask anymore about just how all of those rooms fit into the building that you could see from the outside. It was just part and parcel of the Kamis' magic. Jill had tactfully gone with them, seeing that her partner needed to have a talk with his mate. So it was just him, D, Daniel and Sofu in the sitting room now. The younger Kami had made a pot of tea, and had brought in some assorted chocolates on a plate, and eating these seemed to calm both he and his grandfather. 

The detective decided to break the silence. “So,” he said aloud, making the other three look at him, “What's the deal with your father, D? No offense, but he seems to have some real personality problems.”

D sighed, glancing at his grandfather. There was sadness in Sofu's face, as the older Kami replied quietly. “Please forgive my son, Daniel, Leon. I know he seems very rude and also very angry at humans, but there are reasons...”

Daniel nodded. “We get that, Sof,” he replied gently, touching his mate's knee. “But the thing is...Leon and I are your mates now. We're a part of your family, just like he is. And if he intends to stick around until the baby is born, at least, we have to try to get along together. That's not gonna be easy if he's going to glare at us every time he sees us, and acts like we're lower than slime mold all the time. Maybe if we understand him a little better...”

Sofu took a deep breath. “You are absolutely correct, Daniel. As my mate, you have the right to know why my son is the way he is. And you as well, Leon, since he is the father of your mate. But this is a very hard story for me to tell,” his golden eyes were full of old pain, and Daniel put his arm around his mate and hugged the Kami close. His touch seemed to help, and Sofu leaned against the human as he gathered his thoughts. D looked at his own hands, as the older Kami began slowly: “As you both are aware,” he said, looking first at Daniel and then Leon, “A very long time ago - by human standards anyway - there was a terrible massacre of our people at the Chinese Royal Court. The Emperor ordered every Kami who resided there to be slaughtered, because one of our number had had relations with a royal princess. When she became pregnant by her lover and gave birth to a Kami child instead of a human one by her husband, he fell into a rage and ordered the extermination to be carried out.”

Leon winced as Daniel shook his head. “That sounds like overkill,” he remarked.

Sofu rubbed at his face. “My son was young then, only a bit older than his son is right now,” he let his eyes go to D's bent head. “And he was living at the court, along with many of our relatives. Moreover, he had fallen in love...with a human noblewoman. They had been together for several years, and she had born him a son...this child's elder brother,” he nodded at D, who had lifted his eyes to train them on his grandfather's face. “But my son had left the court for a time, to travel with me. We were in what is now Bangladesh, trying to free some tigers which had been caged by the ruler there for his menagerie. When the butchery began, the soldiers killed every Kami in the palace. They took their orders seriously, and they came for my young grandson. But his mother hid him well, and stood in the way of the soldiers when they came to search her apartments, to find her child. She fought them, and was killed in the process. They didn't find the child, however. He was smuggled out of the palace by her loyal handmaiden, who brought him to us with the news of the massacre. My son...” his hands twisted together as the memories rose up for him, and Daniel tightened his arm around the Kami's slender form comfortingly, “My son went more than a little mad at the news. His beloved was dead defending their child - and many, many of our relatives and friends were dead at the hands of the Emperor. I was so lost in my own grief that I couldn't help him. It was a terrible time...”

Tears shimmered on his porcelain cheeks, and he turned his face into Daniel's chest for a moment. The human stroked his glossy hair lovingly. When Sofu managed to pull himself together enough to speak again, his voice was a tad hoarse. “We wandered the world for a long time, raising the child and avoiding humans as best as we could. To even look at one was repulsive to us. It was a healing balm to be able to be at one with the natural world, and to sometimes go among our own kind again, when we felt the need of more company than just the three of us. I sometimes think that my grandchild is as fey as he is because we avoided humans for so long. After all, no matter how we Kami might despise your kind, this world is your home, as well. You are just as much a part of it as we, whether we would admit it or not. As your numbers grew, avoiding you became harder and harder for us. And as the grief became more distant, the raw hatred we felt settled down into a distant loathing. We began to venture forth into human lands once more, doing our tasks and using our magic to help all of the creatures who lived under humanity's thumbs. By that time, my first grandson was almost an adult. He had taken to wandering without us, sometimes seeking out our company but for the most part being by himself. He is what I believe you humans refer to as a 'loner', preferring his own company to anyone else's. He is a strange creature...but a sweet and child-like one.”

He paused again, and it was clear from his expression that he was coming to another hard part of his story. “My son has always been sensitive and emotional. He was recovering less well than I from what had happened at the court. Although he was dealing with humans again, his rage at them had not subsided as much. And then...” his throat worked, and Daniel shot him a worried look. 

“There was a man. A wealthy, powerful, human lord who took a liking to my son. He wanted to own the beautiful spirit, to control him. But of course my son wanted nothing to do with this person, treating him with the contempt that he felt all humans deserved. This lord did not take kindly to being snubbed in such a cold manner. He sent a large group of men to take my son by force. While we are strong, and skilled, our magic is not geared toward killing. Nor is that our inclination, no matter how angry we are. He fought, and savagely, but in the end he was taken, and drugged with opium to make him docile. The lord had him chained in a room in his house, a prisoner to his will. And he...he...” Sofu bent his head, his body trembling. 

Daniel enclosed his mate in a tight hug. “You don't have to tell us if you don't want to, Sof,” he whispered. “If it's too hard for you. It's okay.”

“No.” the older Kami said. “I do want to tell you. I want you both to understand why my son is so...damaged. That human...raped him. Repeatedly. He kept my son as an unwilling concubine for months.”

Horror raced through Leon and he felt sick to his stomach. Sofu was right – he now had a better understanding of just why D's dad hated all humanity. “Jesus,” he breathed, seeing from Daniel's expression that his fellow human agreed with his outburst. He glanced at D's face, and saw misery written there clearly. He hugged the lovely Kami, asking softly: “D? What is it?”

His mate shook his glossy head. Sofu said sadly: “Child, none of this is your fault. It never has been. You must believe that.”

The blonde detective said urgently: “What do you mean, Granddad? What's not his fault? What's going on?”

Sofu's golden eyes were compassionate, as they rested on his grandson's bowed head. “Do you not understand, Leon? By the time that my son managed to escape his captor, he had been left a remembrance of those nightmare months.”

Leon felt a chill go down his spine. “Do you mean...?” he asked, looking sick.

The older Kami nodded slightly. “He was pregnant. Forgive me, child, but when he appeared at my home, and told me what had happened to him, I wanted to give him certain herbs that would have caused him to lose the child growing within him. He was so traumatized by his experience that I felt it would not be a wise thing for him to carry it to term.”

“I understand, Grandfather,” D replied softly. 

The blonde remarked sadly: “We all do, Granddad. Human women who've been raped, and get pregnant from it, often opt for abortion. But I'm really glad that he didn't go through with it,” he added, tightening his arm around his precious mate. D smiled weakly at him, setting his hand over the detective's.

“As am I,” Sofu replied. “But at the time, I felt differently. My son was such a mess, his mind nearly destroyed from his horrifying experience...I was afraid that giving birth to that fiend's child would push him completely over the edge. And he might have take my recommendation, but my elder grandson showed up as though he knew what had happened to his father. His presence seemed to help and steady my son, and he counseled that his father should keep the child. That bringing another precious Kami into this world was a good thing that would come out of the bad. Since the child would not be human, he would not be able to see that human's face every day when he looked at it. My son saw the wisdom in these arguments, and chose to carry the babe to term. But once he was born...” Sofu looked at D sadly, “My son retreated into madness. Perhaps it was the birth trauma, I do not know. It was clear that he could not be trusted to raise this child of rape, so I left him in the care of my grandson and some of our relatives, and took the child away to raise him myself. As my grandson became older, my son would sometimes come and visit him. But he couldn't stand to be around his offspring for long, and always had to leave. His mind has mended since then, but not enough for him to have any love for humans. He hates them all, and having both his son and father mated to them cannot be easy for him to accept or take. He will not interfere, since he cannot because we both have true mating bonds. But you cannot expect him to like either of you, and I beg you both not to take his rudeness personally.”

Daniel sighed. “We understand, Sof, and it'll be easier to take now that we know why he reacts to humans this way. For your sake I'd have put up with him anyway, since he is your son. Which is kinda weird, since that sort of makes me his stepdad...” 

Sofu was surprised into a laugh at this, which pleased his mate to no end. Leon leaned over and set his fingers under D's chin, lifting it so that he could look into the woeful parti-colored eyes. “Granddad's right, honey,” he whispered to his mate. “None of this was your fault. You didn't ask to be conceived that way...and I'm really, really glad that your dad didn't abort you,” he kissed those sweet red lips, and the Kami felt the love that the human had for him flowing through the bond between them. He relaxed under it, closing his arms over the detective's shoulders. It had not been easy for him, knowing that his father could not stand the sight of him. While he could understand why, that had not ameliorated the hurt he'd felt when his father would come to visit them – and would leave soon after, not to be seen again for many years afterward. While his grandfather had always loved him, there had always been that seed of hurt and uncertainty at his core. But now Leon Orcot chased those ghosts away with his unswerving love for his mate, and D felt both wanted, and loved unconditionally, for the first time in his long life. 

Daniel nuzzled Sofu's ear as the younger pair started to make out on the other couch. “Shameless, aren't they?” the SWAT team commander breathed into it in amusement. Sofu chuckled a bit, feeling relieved, and also somewhat released, for having told that painful story to his mate and Leon Orcot. He wanted the two humans to understand not only why his son hated humans with such fervor, but also why he himself had had no love for them for such a long time. But the truth was, painting all humans with the same brush was not a good thing. They were all different, with different degrees of good and evil intermingled within them. If he'd hated them as unreasonably as his son did, he would never have accepted this bond with Daniel. He might have chosen dying over taking a mate, and he was now so happy that he was grateful that his hatred had ebbed over the centuries. If only his son could find some peace with those memories as well...but there was no hope of that. Not after so much time, not when his son was so damaged still. Wishful thinking seldom helped anything. 

Daniel sighed, kissing his ear tenderly. “Lovely Sof, I have to get back to work. Sorry. I'll see you tonight, hmm? And I'll smile and act civil to your son even if he's an asshole. Promise.”

Sofu looked into his mate's amber eyes. “Thank you, Daniel,” he said gravely. 

The human kissed the tip of his nose. “You're welcome,” Daniel replied. “Anytime,” he added with a faint leer, making the Kami laugh. 

Leon finally pulled away reluctantly as Daniel got to his feet. The detective knew that he had to round up Jill and go back to work as well. He cupped D's cheek in one hand. “I gotta hit the road too, baby,” he said. He stroked his thumb down the silken expanse. “Be strong, D. Your dad has some problems, but you're not responsible for any of 'em. Don't let him get to you, okay?”

D nodded silently. He took comfort and strength from his mate as the human finally stood up from the couch and made for the door. Daniel had already pushed through the beads. D looked at his grandfather, who was resting a hand on his abdomen. The older Kami looked more peaceful now, the tension and stress that had appeared in him when his son had walked into the shop having leaked away for the most part. They shared a glance between them, both Kamis feeling relief at having the sad story from their past told to their mates. D didn't want Leon to hate his father, even though Lord D would hate the blonde human. He loved his parent, though the older Kami often made it very hard for him to do so. 

As though his thoughts had conjured the man, the beads over the door were pushed aside and Lord D glided into the sitting room. His purple eyes looked his two relatives over. “Have your humans gone?” he asked. “How tragic. I was really looking forward to more time with them,” the cutting sarcasm in his voice made the other two Kami wince a little.

“Father,” D said with an internal sigh, “Leon and Daniel are not going anywhere. Please try to get along with them, if even just a little.”

Lord D made a moue with his mouth. “if that is your wish, of course I will try to honor it, my son,” he replied coolly. 

Sofu lifted his eyes to the heavens, as though asking for divine guidance from above. It was going to be a long year until his child was born, he mused silently, if his son could not bend even a little. The Kami could not seem to help himself, projecting an air of pride and arrogance around humans, as a thin veil over his deep hatred of them. He wondered how long Leon Orcot and Daniel White Horse would tolerate his behavior, in spite of the fact that they both felt sympathy for him now. As his son moved over to sit down on the couch and pour himself a cup of tea, Sofu prayed to all deities listening that his son would not start an all-out war with his family's mates, as living in a war zone would not be something that he would look forward to normally - and doing so when he was pregnant would be a hundred times worse. 

 

 

Jill glanced over at her partner. He'd been quiet for the last twenty minutes, which wasn't usual at all. She wondered what had happened after she'd gone to play with Chris and T-chan. And she was dying of curiosity to know everything about the Kami who'd been introduced as D's father. He'd seemed like a total prick, and she'd had the strong urge to pull her gun and shoot the guy. She was just surprised that Leon hadn't actually done so, since he had very little patience with assholes. She suspected that there was more to the story, but wasn't sure whether she should ask. Unlike her partner, she actually had some tact. She decided to make a conversational foray and see if he would tell her anything. If not, she wouldn't push the matter. “That guy Lord D seemed like a real jerk,” she said aloud.

Leon was pulled out of his thoughts by her question. “Yeah,” he agreed. “But according to Granddad, there are good reasons why he's that way.”

She shot him a sideways look. But he said nothing else, so she decided to drop it. It wasn't really her business anyway, so unless he wanted to talk about it she wouldn't say anything else. Besides, they had work to concentrate on. Leon's personal life was just that – personal. She opened the case file on her lap, beginning to read it as her partner drove through the heavy afternoon traffic.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A rather strange young human comes into the pet shop to get a pet - and takes a liking to Lord D. Will he have a chance, or will the traumatized kami utterly reject him?

The next few weeks were tense ones. Lord D was behaving himself – nominally - but his hatred of both his father’s and son’s mates was palpable. And while one of his ostensible reasons for being at the shop was to get to know his son better, that wasn’t happening. He still had trouble even talking to the younger Kami, and D cringed every time that his father’s eyes slid away from his involuntarily when their gazes met. Sofu was in turns exasperated and angry at his son, but at the same time his understanding of why Lord D was this way hampered him getting really furious. 

He was grateful that Chris had taken an immediate dislike to his son on sight, and was keeping out of the younger Kami’s sight. He and T-chan spent even more time playing in the back, where Lord D never went. Both Leon and Daniel remained polite to the arrogant Kami, in spite of his sarcasm and the cutting way that he spoke to them both - as though they were trained chimps who could perform certain clever tricks. But Sofu could see them both gritting their teeth, and he wondered wearily how much longer this would go on before one or both of them lost their tempers and patience with Lord D. He winced at the images of the confrontation that would take place.

All he wanted was for his family to get along together, but his son was making that impossible. Sofu was very unhappy – his grandson was miserable, his mate was tense, his son impossible, Leon clearly doing a slow boil, Chris hiding constantly, and the animals restless because they sensed Lord D’s mood whenever he attended to them. The baby also seemed to be aware of the negative atmosphere, for Sofu was having pains in his abdomen now. None of his probes showed anything wrong with the pregnancy, but he still worried. This anxiety contributed to the headaches that plagued him now, as well. How he wished for some peace and quiet, some time by himself when he didn’t have to mediate between his son and the humans who lived in the shop. He’d taken to lying down in the afternoons, with the pregnancy as an excuse. It was the only time that everyone left him alone, and without it he feared he would have gone completely mad by now.

 

 

One afternoon, a little over a month after his arrival, Lord D was manning the counter in the shop. D was in the back taking care of the animals – and also avoiding his father. Sofu was asleep, taking his afternoon nap. The children were playing somewhere out of sight, as usual. The Kami was by himself in the empty shop, with only his thoughts for company. But they were not proving to be good companions, and he frowned to himself as he stood tapping his long nails on the wood of the counter in an idle gesture. 

He was self-aware enough to know that he was distressing both his father and his son. Sofu was looking pale these days, and the sadness in his golden eyes every time Lord D saw him smote him a blow straight to his heart. His son couldn’t even look at him, any more than he could bring himself to look at the boy for any length of time. Never mind that D was pure Kami – every time that Lord D gazed at him, he saw the human who had fathered his child. He knew that this was unfair to D, but he couldn’t help it. Any more than he could help sniping at the two humans who had mated with the other members of his family. He tried to get along with them, but the hatred that burned in his heart for their kind kept coming to the fore every time he opened his mouth. 

Lord D sighed, reaching up to run a hand through his long black hair. Much to his chagrin, he feared that he would have to leave soon in spite of the fact that he’d meant to stay until his sibling was born. He didn’t like causing this much dissent and stress, no matter what his father thought. He could always return when the babe made his way into the world, and stay for a short time before leaving again. It was just…his purple eyes grew sad. He really had intended to make amends to his family, to try to get to know his now adult son, and spend time with his father for the first time in over a century. He missed Sofu. And he might have been able to, if he hadn’t arrived to discover his father pregnant by a human…a HUMAN mate! And D also mated to another one of the loathsome creatures. This had been a severe shock for him. No matter how hard he tried, he knew that he could never get along with Leon Orcot and Daniel White Horse. So he would have to take his leave and go back to his solitary life. Even though he desperately didn’t want to…

The doorbell jingled as someone came into the shop. He looked up, and distaste flashed over his beautiful face when he saw that it was a human. Not that the majority of the customers weren’t humans, of course…This one stood in the doorway for a moment, and then strode over to the counter. “Hi!” he said cheerfully to the Kami. “This is a really cool place you have here,” he said admiringly, looking around at the exotic-looking pet shop with interest plainly written on his face.

Lord D lifted his brows slightly, in his usual arrogant expression. He looked down his narrow nose at the human – which wasn’t easy, since the young human male had about eight inches of height on him. Tall, but not exactly gangly, just lean. A friendly face with a merry smile plastered on it. Teal-blue eyes that came to rest on Lord D at last, looking him over admiringly. It was impossible to tell what color his hair must have been originally, since it had been dyed the same color as his eyes. He looked rather like some of the mer folk that Lord D knew, except for the fact that they had no hair to speak of. “Can I help you?” Lord D asked coolly in his slightly-accented English, the words belied by his frigid tone of voice.

The youth blinked as he tore his gaze away from Lord D’s face at last. “Yeah, I sure hope so!” he said enthusiastically. “I’ve decided to get a pet, and I was on my way to pick up some Chinese food from this shop down the street, when I saw this place. I figured someplace that looked this awesome from the outside couldn’t help but have some really neat pets for sale. And seeing you…” he let his eyes sweep over the Kami, who stiffened in silent outrage, “I now believe it totally. Has anybody told you you’re a total babe?” he continued, admiration still clear in his voice.

“Yes, I have had compliments on my looks before this,” Lord D replied caustically.

“I bet. Damn, but you’re gorgeous!” he seemed to realize that the lovely being behind the counter was not impressed by his utterances, for he looked rather sheepish. “Sorry, I shouldn’t be hitting on you. I just came in here to get a pet, after all. But I couldn’t help myself,” he shrugged good-naturedly. Lord D opened his mouth to say something else cutting, but kept it open as the strange young man cocked his head a bit and asked curiously: “So what are you anyway? I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of your kind before this.”

Purple eyes were rather wide, as Lord D gaped at the young human. Seeing his expression, the young human laughed. “Sorry, again,” he said, “Shouldn’t have asked that so abruptly. I was just curious, that’s all. Like I said, I’ve never seen anything like you before.”

“Are you implying…that you’ve seen other beings not of my race?” Lord D managed to ask after a moment.

A blue head nodded simply. “Uh-huh. Sure. Ever since I was a little kid, actually. When I was two I met a selkie at the beach in Ireland. My family was on vacation there. He was really nice,” he added. “He taught me to swim. Said I reminded him of his own kid. He’d had a little boy with a human girl, but he hadn’t seen him for a long time. I felt kinda sorry for him.”

Lord D listened in stunned silence to this recitation. The youth said so casually something that would make the majority of human beings think that they were insane. Most had a very hard time accepting the existence of races other than their own on this planet. “And then when I was five, I was in the woods and there was this tree spirit, what do you call them…”

“A dryad,” Lord D replied numbly.

His face lit up. “That’s it! She was really pretty, like you are…” he said, his eyes taking another stroll over the lovely Kami, much to Lord D’s annoyance, “And she taught me some songs. We spent a whole summer together, but then her tree got cut down…” sadness washed over his face. “And then when I was seven…”

Lord D held up a hand, since it was clear that the young human was going to go on all day if he wasn’t stopped. “Very well. I am what is called Kami, a kind of nature spirit.”

“Oh,” he looked interested. “Like in the Japanese Shinto religion? Isn’t that the name of their little nature spirits? Guess that makes sense – you running a pet shop and all. You must really love animals and things.”

“Yes,” Lord D replied frigidly. 

“Okay. Umm, I’m Stephen by the way. Nice to meet you…errr…” he held out his hand, looking hopefully at the Kami.

Lord D looked at the hand like it was something that had crawled out of a cesspool. He made no move to take it. When he didn’t move, the young human dropped his hand back to his side. He didn’t look the least put out by the Kami’s continuing rudeness. “Umm, can we look at the animals now?” the teal-blue eyes were full of guilessness, but Lord D was still wary as he stepped out from behind the counter. 

“Please follow me,” he said as he walked down the hall that led to the back where the animals were.

He could have sworn he heard the young human mutter “Anywhere, anytime,” but he chose to ignore this as he had the other overtures. He was not the least bit interested in making this human’s acquaintance. They proceeded into the room where the cages were, and D straightened up from one of them to look curiously at his father, and the tall human walking behind him. 

“Whoa!” Stephen exclaimed when he saw all of the animals staring at him. “This is great! I knew this was the perfect place!”

D came over to them and smiled politely at the enthusiastic young human. “Welcome,” he said softly. 

A dazzling smile was turned on him. “Hi! I’m Stephen,” he said to D, who looked surprised. “You’re just as pretty as he is,” the young human said, looking him over, “But a lot younger.”

D’s mouth opened as he stared at Stephen in puzzlement. Lord D sighed. “He can see spirits,” he explained to his son. “He knew that I was not human when he saw me behind the counter. But I do not know how it is that he can tell we are of different ages…”

“It’s your auras,” Stephen explained from behind him. “Yours just LOOKS older is all. So you two are related, huh?”

“He is my father,” D replied quietly, indicating Lord D with one slender hand.

“Wow! If I couldn’t see your aura I’d be shocked,” Stephen remarked to Lord D. “Cause you look about nineteen or so. Both of you do actually. Do you guys not age?”

“No, we don’t,” D said, fascinated by this surprisingly perceptive human. 

“Huh, that must be a nice trick. Anyway," he glanced around the shop, “I came to get a pet. Do you have any recommendations?”

D took the young human with him to look at the various animals that he thought would suit Stephen, leaving his father standing near the door. Lord D was frowning to himself. This strange young human bothered him, for some reason he couldn’t quite put a finger on. He was as overenthusiastic as a young puppy, and didn’t seem like the brightest creature on Earth, either. And yet...he shrugged off his unease, refusing to let it take root within him. The human would get his pet and depart, never to be seen again. Now why, when he thought that, did an odd little twinge of unhappiness race through him? 

 

 

Among the cages, D and Stephen were having a conversation about the animals. The young man was torn between a sleek ferret and a handsome raven with a bright eye, and was asking D his opinion on which one would suit him best. The Kami found himself enjoying that conversation, even though he didn’t often like humans on sight. Stephen seemed to be a very open, happy, innocent creature, akin to the animals themselves in his straightforwardness and clear-sightedness alike. But as they finally both decided on the raven, and D was taking it out of its cage so that it could perch on its new owner’s shoulder, Stephen said softly to him: “So your dad…” he nodded toward where Lord D stood near the door still, “What’s his deal?”

D blinked at him. “I beg your pardon?” he said as he handed the raven to Stephen. It croaked as it sidled onto his shoulder and perched there, looking very happy. The young Kami was pleased; the animals themselves always decided whether they actually wanted to go with someone or not. The raven looked contented with its perch already, as Stephen lifted his fingers so that the bird could nibble on them.

“Well, he seems pretty unhappy. And he doesn’t like humans, does he? He was practically glaring at me earlier. I just wondered what his story is.”

D lowered his eyelids. “I’m afraid it is not my place to discuss that with a stranger,” he replied demurely.

“Okay, gotcha. Just thought I’d ask,” Stephen replied. “I guess I’ll have to find out some other way.”

D lifted his head to give the human a surprised glance. “What do you mean?” he asked.

The blue eyes gleamed. “Well, I think he’s a total babe, and he looks like he needs somebody to make him happy,” he replied cheerfully. “So I’m gonna offer my services.”

D was taken aback. “My father does not like humans at all,” he warned Stephen. 

He nodded. “Uh, yeah, I could tell. Doesn’t matter though. I just have to convince him that whether he likes other humans or not, he can still like ME. An uphill battle I can tell, but I don’t care,” he looked like a man girding his loins (figuratively, of course) for battle.

The young Kami was perplexed. “You truly mean to try to woo my father?” he said questioningly, wondering about this Stephen’s sanity.

A grin. “Sure I do. Persistence is a virtue after all,” his teal-blue eyes twinkled, and D shook his head wonderingly. 

“Well, let me wish you good luck, then,” he said, adding in his head, 'You’re going to need it.'

“Thanks. Can we talk about this guy now? I want to know how to take care of him properly. I’m gonna call him Buddy,” he stroked a finger carefully over the raven’s breastbone.

“Of course,” D replied, liking the young human in spite of himself. Lord D was going to eat him for breakfast, which would be sad; but since he seemed so intent on trying to woo the prickly Kami, D didn’t think he could talk the young human out of it. He began to discuss the raven’s care and feeding with Stephen, trying not to think about what was going to happen when the human tried to get closer to Lord D.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lord D learns to get along better with his family, but his world is upset by the return of a far too shrewd young human to the pet shop...

When Sofu arose from his afternoon nap, he went slowly out into the shop. He cringed internally when he saw his son behind the counter, waiting for the younger Kami to make a snide or disparaging remark. But Lord D was staring off across the shop with a peculiar expression on his face, and he didn’t even seem to notice his father standing nearby. Sofu cleared his throat delicately, and his son actually started a bit. “Are you all right?” Sofu asked, studying the younger Kami’s beautiful face in concern. “Are you well, my son?” 

Lord D visibly pulled himself together. “Yes, Father, I am fine,” he replied quickly. 

Sofu frowned. “Are you sure?”

A nod of the head. Then he turned the question by looking his father over and asking: “And are you well, Father? It concerns me that you seem very tired lately. Does it…is it…?” he hesitated, and then sighed. “Is it because of me?” he went on more softly, making Sofu’s stomach sink. 

“Of course not,” the older Kami hurried to say, but his son shook his head.

“Don’t lie to make me feel better, Father. I am aware that you are stressed and unhappy because of my presence here. I think that I should leave,” he went on sadly.

“No!” Sofu cried, reaching out to lay a hand on his offspring’s arm. “Please don’t leave, my son. I don’t want you to go. It’s just…” he trailed off, looking unhappy.

“It’s the fact that I can’t get along with your mates, or even my own son,” Lord D went on for him. “I have tried, Father, but I’m failing miserably. I can’t seem to stop myself from denigrating humans, no matter how hard I try. And as for my son…” his purple eyes were a well of sadness. “I can’t even talk to him. I don’t know what to do,” his shoulders hunched, and Sofu felt pity well up in him. 

His hand stroked over Lord D’s green-and gold-cheongsam. “I think that you’re trying too hard where your child is concerned,” he said slowly. “You push yourself to have some kind of relationship with him, even though you never have before. He’s a complete stranger to you, though you gave birth to him. In fact, perhaps that’s how you should approach the situation. Treat him as a person you’d just met, not someone who comes with so much baggage. As a strange adult Kami who you wish to come to know, not as a child of your body. That way, you won’t always be thinking of his conception and birth whenever you look at him.”

Lord D looked at his father wonderingly. “That is an excellent idea, Father,” he replied. Thank you. But what about your mates…?”

Sofu sighed. “I don’t expect you to respect or like them, my son. Nor do they. I would simply ask that you refrain from attacking them every time you see them, that is all. Please remember – no matter how much you hate humans, Daniel White Horse is the father of your half-sibling. Whenever you come to see him, you’ll have to deal with my mate. And when you come to see your own son, you will have to do the same with Leon Orcot. Someday, your grandchild will be fathered by that human detective. So whether you like it or not, you will have to learn to deal with them to a certain extent.”

Lord D nodded. “You are right as usual, Father,” he remarked. “I would like to stay - and I will work harder to control myself when I am around your human. I promise,” he said, and it was clear that he meant it. 

Sofu found himself relaxing, some of his tension leaking away. He didn’t want his son to leave, for it had been far too long since they had been together. And he wanted Lord D to finally get to know his wonderful son. But if his offspring had refused to see that he was causing havoc and stress to the people around him, the older Kami knew that he would have encouraged Lord D to leave, whether he liked the idea or not. But if he was willing to try to get along with the other inhabitants of the shop - Sofu knew that his son would stick to his promise, and that things would get at least a bit better around the shop. That was all he could ask for right now.

 

Lord D kept to his promise. The first thing he did was go back and find his son, taking his father’s advice about approaching D as a strange adult Kami rather than his child. He entered the shop itself, walking among the cages, seeing D bent over one of them as he talked to the animal within. “Do you need any help?” he asked courteously, making his son straighten up and turn to give him a surprised look. 

“What about the counter?” D asked.

Lord D shrugged. “Father is watching it, since he got up from his nap a bit ago. He seems to be feeling better for it, which I’m grateful for. I don’t want any complications with his pregnancy, which is possible considering his advanced age…” his purple eyes twinkled, and to D’s shock, he realized that his seemingly humorless father was actually making a joke. 

A soft laugh was surprised out of him. “Well, I suppose I could use some help,” he conceded.

“Wonderful. Just tell me what you want me to do,” Lord D replied. His son set him to filling water dishes, and they worked side-by-side in companionable silence for a time. Then the older Kami spoke up. “There’s something I want to explain to you, my son,” he said gravely, turning to look at D.

The younger Kami stiffened, turning to look at his father reluctantly. It made Lord D feel bad to see the expression on his offspring’s face, the one of waiting for rejection yet again. He said sadly: “I never blamed you for your conception, my son, nor for who your other parent was. But after you were born, I simply couldn’t look at you. Every time I did I was reminded of…what had happened. It was as though I were still back in that house, waiting for that monster to touch me again…I tried to hold you, to be your parent, but I simply couldn’t. I would fall into fits, fits so bad that my father feared that I would hurt you one day without even realizing it. And I might have, for I was never aware of my surroundings when one fell on me. I didn’t want to hurt you. So I let my father take you and raise you, wanting you to be safe and loved. For a long time, whenever I came to visit, it was as bad as ever. And by the time that it started to get better you were half-grown, and a complete stranger to me. I didn’t know how to have a parent-child bond with you. But Father suggested today that I might approach you as though you were a complete stranger, and become your friend rather than your parent. I see that he’s right – you’re an adult now, too old for us to be father and son. But we could be friends – and I would very much like that.” And he looked hopefully at his silent son.

D stared at his father. Lord D had never spoken to him this way before. Hearing what his father had gone through at his birth helped him to understand that it hadn’t been rejection on the older Kami’s part – he had simply been trying to protect his child from himself. He himself might have done the same thing had their positions been reversed. “I…would like that as well, Father,” he said simply after a moment.

To his further shock, Lord D actually smiled. “Good. And I promise to try to behave better around your mate as well,” he said. “Much as I do not care for humans, Leon Orcot is your bonded partner, and won’t be going anywhere. So it behooves me to at least be civil to him if I can. I will do my best,” he said seriously.

D was pleased, and his lovely face showed it. “Thank you, Father,” he replied fervently. Then he hesitated, before saying: “What did you think of that young human who came to the shop earlier? The one who took the raven home?”

A surprised look flashed over Lord D’s face. Then it was superseded by a rather arrogant one. “He is just another human,” he sneered before he turned away.

D watched his father go to one of the other cages and open it, and his parti-colored eyes were thoughtful. 'Is he?' the younger Kami wondered. 'Is he, Father? I wonder.'

 

 

Both Leon and Daniel were surprised when Lord D actually managed to be polite to them at dinner that night. It was obviously a struggle for the Kami, and sometimes he spoke through gritted teeth. But both of the humans were impressed by the fact that he was trying – and they were both happier, since their mates were happier, as well. D was actually having a civil conversation with his father, and Sofu was the most relaxed that Daniel had seen him in almost a month. They exchanged glances across the table, silently communicating the fact that they might not have to kick Lord D out of the shop, after all. While this wouldn’t have pleased either of their mates, they’d been growing tired of the constant animosity he showed, and also the tension the Kami was causing in everyone. But if he was willing to try, they were willing to put up with his occasional lapses. 

 

 

The next day, Lord D was once again manning the counter in the shop. His father hadn’t needed to lie down today, but was in the sitting room sewing on a piece of clothing for the baby. Lord D had insisted that his father should rest at least, and Sofu hadn’t fought him on it. The older Kami had made himself some tea and a plate of sweets, and had retired happily to put his feet up for awhile. D was in the back, and his father intended to go back there as well when Sofu could take over for him. Lord D intended to continue his efforts to befriend his son whenever he could. He’d already discovered that he liked the younger Kami, for the boy was sweet-natured and kind. No trace of the wretched human who’d sired him showed up in D’s personality, which relieved Lord D greatly. 

The bell over the door jingled, and a tall, blue-haired young man strode into the shop. He had a raven on one shoulder, and he grinned at the sight of Lord D standing behind the counter. “Hi!” he said happily. “I’m back.”

Lord D felt a peculiar sensation in the pit of his stomach. “Yes, I can see that,” he replied dryly. “May I ask why?”

“Oh, Buddy and I just wanted to come and make sure that I got all the details about his care and feeding,” the young human replied merrily. He held up a notebook triumphantly. “I even came prepared to take notes,” he said. “Just in case. I want to make sure that I give this guy the best care that I can,” he reached up to stroke a long finger over the feathers on the raven’s breast, making the bird tilt its head and nibble at his ear fondly.

Lord D suspected that the human was lying – or at least not telling the whole truth about his return trip to the shop. But he couldn’t prove that, so he merely lifted a single brow, and replied as coldly as possible: “You may talk to my son. He’s in the back.”

Stephen’s face fell. “Oh, I don’t want to disturb him,” he said hurriedly. “Why can’t I just talk to you? Don’t you know how to take care of ravens?”

Lord D did, and he wasn’t a very good liar himself. “I suppose that I could help you,” he conceded reluctantly, speaking through his teeth. 

The young human’s face lit up once more. “Great!” he exclaimed, walking over to the counter and reaching up to let his raven step onto his hand. He set the bird on the countertop. It preened and opened its wings a bit, sidling along the wood. Stephen laughed and rubbed a finger over the bird’s glossy black head. “You know, his feathers and your hair are the same color,” he remarked, looking at Lord D’s long tail of hair. “And they’re both pretty glossy. Should I rub your head, too?” he asked impudently.

The Kami blew out an exasperated breath. “I think not,” he said, although his freezing tones just didn’t seem to have the same effect on this impossible young human as they did on everybody else. Stephen looked unconcerned about this reply, shrugging his wide shoulders as he set the notebook on the counter.

“So tell me all about this guy,” he remarked, letting the raven nibble at one finger, as he held his pen in his other hand. 

Lord D began to go into the habits and feeding instructions of ravens, speaking as clinically as possible. Stephen listened, asked surprisingly sharp questions, and took copious notes. Buddy walked along the counter for a bit, then flew up onto his human’s shoulder to perch there. He croaked at both of them, and Stephen chuckled. “Handsome fellah, just have to show off, don’t you?” he crooned, reaching up to stroke the bird’s breast again. 

That tone of voice caused strange flutterings to start up in Lord D’s abdomen, which made him frown awfully. He looked away from the human deliberately, not liking his reaction to this Stephen at all. He heard the raven mutter to his human as though in response, and Stephen laughed. “I think that you’re vain,” he said to the bird. “But that’s okay. Why not? You’ll have all of those lady ravens fluttering around you in no time.”

Lord D looked back at the two, and saw that Stephen had produced a package of crackers from a pocket and was feeding one to the raven. The bird ate daintily, as the teal-blue eyes turned in the Kami’s direction. “It’s okay to feed him crackers, right?” he asked. 

“Yes,” Lord D replied. 

“Good. Don’t want to feed him anything that’ll make him sick,” Stephen said earnestly. In spite of himself the Kami had to admit that this human really seemed to care about his new pet, and the raven clearly returned the adoration. A human who loved animals wasn’t all bad. And one who could see spirits as well…he pulled himself up sharply, not liking the direction his thoughts were going in. “You okay?” he heard Stephen ask, and looked up into those teal-blue eyes once more. 

“I am fine,” Lord D replied calmly. 

“Hmm. Well, you just kinda spaced out there for a sec. Thought you might be sick or something,” the young human said earnestly.

“I am well. Now that we’ve covered the care of your new pet, shouldn’t you be leaving?” Lord D said pointedly.

Stephan stared at him, then grinned. “No,” he replied simply. When Lord D’s brows drew down, the insouciant creature admitted: “I only used Buddy here as an excuse. I could have looked all this stuff up on the internet. I came here today to see you.”

Silence. Lord D’s face was a picture. “Why?” the Kami asked tightly after a moment. 

“Cause I think that you’re gorgeous and interesting, and I want to get to know you better,” Stephen replied.

“Well, I do not wish that,” Lord D said in exasperation.

“You’ll change your mind,” the human replied confidently. 

“No, I will not. Please leave.” 

The Kami started to turn away, when Stephen said something that shocked him: “Somebody hurt you real bad,” he remarked sadly. The Kami whirled around, rather wide-eyed, as the human stared at him as though he could see straight into Lord D’s damaged soul.

“What makes you think that?” the Kami managed to say tightly after a moment.

“I don’t think it, I know it. I can see it. And from the way you react to me, I’d think that whoever it was was a human. Am I right?” the sudden shrewd expression, on that formerly rather innocent-looking face, stunned Lord D. Then Stephen finished him off altogether by leaning onto the counter so that his face was closer to the much shorter Kami’s, and said softly: “Were you…raped? Is that it? Did a human do it? Is that why you hate us?”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stephen's words help Lord D to have an epiphany about himself

If someone had hit Lord D over the head with a large rock, he wouldn’t have felt more dazed and shocked. He stood frozen, his purple eyes wide, staring at the young human leaning over the counter. Stephen read his answer from his silence, and the expression on his face. The blue-haired man straightened up a bit as he nodded. “I thought so,” he said quietly. The teal-colored eyes were sad. 

Lord D’s brain still refused to work properly. All he managed to say was “W-What…How?” in a thin voice.

Stephen sighed. “I recognized the signs. My sister…” the sadness in his eyes intensified. “My sister was raped by two men a few years ago, when she was leaving work. I watched her struggle to recover, and I went to the support meetings with her so that she’d have someone to lean on. I remember what she was like after it happened – how frightened she was to be touched, how much she hated men – and how her anger covered total fear. She was afraid that any guy who touched her would want to attack her. She flinched even when I tried to touch her, for a long time afterward. If I tried to touch you…” he reached out a hand toward the Kami, who took a step backward automatically. Stephen smiled sadly. “You hate humans because you’re afraid of them,” he went on. “I can understand that. But if you’re letting your anger and fear ruin your life, doesn’t that mean that the human who hurt you is winning twice over? Bet he’d love to know that he’s managed to make you like this. True evil revels in the destruction of innocence,” he shook his head. 

“I’ll go for now,” Stephen went on. “But I’m hoping that you’ll think about what I said. Goodbye,” and he walked out of the shop, with his raven perched on his shoulder. Dumbly Lord D stared after him, and silence fell over the pet shop, after the door had closed behind the young human. The only sound to break it was a strange little keening sound, and it took the Kami a long time to realize that he was the one who was actually making it. He felt as though his very soul had been laid bare before those blue eyes, that the human had seen the miserable, broken being that still crouched in terror inside of Lord D. Centuries later, and he still hadn’t come to terms with what had happened to him. He was still bitter, still fearful, still close to the wretched person who had been unable to hold his own newborn son, because of the fits that fell over him whenever he tried. 

He was reeling inside his own head. To have that cold front he put up breeched - and by a HUMAN! It was too much. He wanted to scream. He didn’t remember moving, but somehow he ended up in his bedroom. Blindly he made his way over to the bed, and sat down on the side of it. He was shaking by this time, long shivers that wracked his whole body. His hands gripped each other tightly in his lap. He bowed his head as the memories resurfaced; rising up in his mind as though it had happened yesterday, instead of slightly over a thousand years ago. 

Soldiers coming for him, breaking into the small house that he lived in with his father and son. He’d fought like a cornered tiger, and had hurt more than one of them – but in the end there were simply too many. They’d held him down, and one of the men had straddled his body, forcing a bottle to his lips, and pinching his nose shut so that he had to swallow. Everything had gone muzzy after that, and when he’d finally come back to himself it was to find that he was in a strange, opulent room. He was naked, and his wrists and ankles had specially fitted cuffs around them, attached to chains that gave him some room to move around but almost no mobility with his hands and feet. 

Fear had engulfed him, and he’d fought the chains even though he knew that his superhuman strength wasn’t even enough to break them. Whoever had forged them had done an excellent job of compensating for otherworldly abilities, and he’d finally given up when he wore himself out – and blood was trickling down his arms and feet from lacerations he’d given himself. He’d lain on the bed, panting, staring at the canopy overhead – and the door had opened just then. He’d heard a laugh – low, contemptuous, cold. 

“So, my prize,” a voice had said as he’d craned his neck to see who had entered the room. “Here you are. And as lovely as I remember. Excellent.”

To his horror, he’d recognized that supercilious human lord who’d spoken to him on the street one day. The one who’d offered him riches and beautiful things if he’d only consent to be the man’s concubine. He’d turned the wretch down with his usual hauteur, his dislike of humans made stronger in this case by the fact that he hadn’t liked the slimy bastard at all. The man had rounded the bed, and he’d had to fight not to shrink back away from the human lord. He wouldn’t give the repulsive creature the satisfaction. 

“You could have had everything,” the human had mused as he looked down at the chained Kami, “I would have kept you as though you were a prince. But instead you chose to humiliate me, in full view of my men and the townspeople. For that I’m afraid that you’ll have to pay the price,” he’d smiled, a terrible, cruel stretching of the lips, as he’d reached down to run a finger along one of Lord D’s cheekbones. His very touch was repulsive, and nausea had roiled in the Kami’s stomach.

Of course, the man would touch him far more intimately many times over the next few months, and he could do nothing as the human humiliated him over and over. The lord never tried to make him feel pleasure, and was always rough and harsh. He did his best to cause Lord D pain each time, and he succeeded more often than not. If it hadn’t been for his healing abilities, he might have died several times under the treatment he received at the human lord’s hands. He might have starved himself to death to escape, but he was kept drugged with opium and made to eat. His captor had no intention of letting him die until he was tired of abusing the Kami. How Lord D had prayed, to whichever of the Gods or Spirits that was listening, that the human would do so, and put him out of his misery. But that never happened. 

Instead, something miraculous (at least from his point of view) happened. His human captor had grown too proud and arrogant, and had tried to grab too much power for himself. One day, he’d heard the distant sounds of fighting, as well as yells and screams. After a time soldiers had burst into his room. They’d exclaimed in horror when they saw the beautiful Chinese man chained to the bed, and had sent for a locksmith to free him. Perhaps they’d intended to speak to Lord D, to find out more about him, (or to claim him for themselves), but the moment the chains fell away, he was ready. While he was weak from the abuse he’d suffered, and the fact that he hadn’t been able to move very far for months, he’d still managed to dash out of the room, between the hands that grabbed at him to stop him, and had run out of the house with the last of his strength. He’d arrived at the house where his father still lived - for Sofu had hoped to hear news of him for all of these months. The last thing he’d remembered was hearing his father’s voice crying out above his head, and then nothing for a long time.

When he’d come back to himself, he'd found himself tucked up in a soft bed. He was clean and well-cared for, and his father was sitting beside him on a chair. The elder Kami’s golden eyes were full of sadness as he’d looked down at his son. “Tell me what happened, my son,” he’d said simply, and Lord D had. Tonelessly, emotionlessly, he’d told his father of every horror that he’d suffered at the hands of that human. Sofu had wept silently the entire time he was speaking, and when he was done the elder Kami had said simply: “I have something to tell you.” 

When Lord D had looked at him, Sofu had shut his eyes and said: “You are with child, my son. I’m sorry.”

The shock and horror that had coiled through him at these words had nearly swept what was left of Lord D’s sanity away. He’d made a choked sound between his teeth, the first tears he’d cried running down his cheeks, as Sofu had tried to comfort him even a little bit. He’d wept for a long time, and after that had lain and stared at the ceiling with an expressionless face for days. Sofu had cared for him tenderly, and once he was a little more coherent again, had gently suggested that he abort the child within him. And he would have done so, if not for his elder son. His words had made sense, and Lord D had chosen to go through with the pregnancy. But he’d never felt any love for the little life growing in him. Not that he’d felt anything for anybody for a long time. He’d been completely numb, and had spent most of his days sitting in a chair in the garden staring at nothing. 

When the babe was born, he’d lain in exhaustion on his bed as Sofu cleaned the crying child and wrapped him in a soft white cloth. But then the elder Kami had tried to hand his son to him to hold, and Lord D had lost it. He remembered nothing of what had happened after that for at least an hour, but his father had told him later that he’d gone into a mad fit as soon as the baby was in his hands. He’d told Sofu not to bring the child near him again, for despite his parentage, D was an innocent Kami newborn who didn’t deserve to be hurt or killed by his father in a mindless fit. Sofu was grieved, but complied. And eventually he'd departed with the babe altogether, leaving his son in the loving hands of his oldest grandson. 

He’d thought – he’d thought that he’d mended over time, and perhaps he had to a certain extent. But parts of his mind were still broken or damaged. Stephen’s words cut right to the heart of it – he hated humans because he was afraid of them. He feared that if he got near one, the same thing would happen to him again. It was an instinctive, panicked response, and one he’d never really realized still lingered within him. He’d truly thought that he just hated humanity because of what they’d done to him and his kind, without seeing the root cause of this rage was actually terrible, overwhelming fear.

Was he letting what had happened to him ruin his life, as the young human had gently suggested? Was his mindless rage destroying everything he cared about? Well, consider the facts – he hadn’t even been able to speak to his youngest son until the last few weeks. And his hatred of the humans, who now swarmed over the Earth in endless numbers, had left him bitter and warped. He couldn’t avoid them, since there were no corners of the planet that they hadn’t gone. Yet instead of trying to learn to deal with them at all, he’d stewed in his own hatred. And the only person that it was truly hurting (besides his family who loved him), was himself. He was a lonely, bitter, miserable creature, lost in his own past, and unable to move forward. 

When was the last time that he’d let anyone but his father or older son touch him? He didn’t even trust other Kami to lay hands on him, let alone humans, or any of the other beings who shared this planet with them. To be touched was to be hurt. But like every other living creature, touch was a necessity for Lord D. To have forgone it for so long – no wonder he’d become so cold. 

All of these new thoughts were leaving the Kami feeling as though he’d been blind for centuries, and was only now regaining his sight. He felt as though he’d been ill for a very long time. He trembled with the force of his epiphany, and soft sobs forced their way up his throat. He barely heard the soft knock on the door, and couldn’t speak when he heard his father’s voice as the older Kami opened it. “My son? Are you here?” he stopped in the doorway, his golden eyes widening as he took in the sight of his child sitting on the side of his bed, shaking and weeping as he rocked back and forth a little.

“What is it?!” he exclaimed, hurrying over to the bed to bend over his distraught son. “My son, what has happened? Are you all right?”

The worry and fear in his voice made Lord D come back to himself a bit. “I...I…” he choked, trying desperately to speak. 

Sofu sat down beside him and put an arm over his slim shoulders. “Tell me,” he said softly. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

Lord D had always confided in his father, had looked to him for support and unconditional love. This helped him to speak, to begin telling his father about the young human who’d come to the shop to get a pet, and who’d looked at him admiringly. He also told his father about how this same human had looked right through him, right down into his soul, and had seen the person hiding behind the mask that Lord D wore to keep out the world. He spoke about how the human’s words had been like a blow to him, making him take a good look at himself for the first time in centuries. And the things he’d seen had not made him very happy at all. 

Sofu listened to this recital in amazement, as his hand stroked comfortingly down his son’s back. A HUMAN had caused this reaction in his offspring? Had made the Kami actually look at himself and realize just how broken he still was inside? Sofu had tried to gently talk to his son about these things in the past, but had made no headway. Perhaps he’d simply been the wrong person to do so. Apparently the Kami had needed a complete stranger to ruthlessly point things out to him, rather than loving advice from a family member. Sofu was intrigued by this young human, very intrigued. 

“My son,” he said tenderly when Lord D had wound down at last, “You do not have to remain this way, now that you have realized how unhappy it’s making you. Change is the only inevitable thing – and unless you’re dead, change is always possible. Look at the changes you’ve already made. You are friends with your son now, and you can actually speak to my mate without sneering or snarling at him. If you don’t wish to be this person, you can change yourself. It will be hard, but I know that you have the strength of will to do so if you actually want to…”

Lord D lifted his head, wiping at the tear tracks glistening on his porcelain cheeks. “Do you think so, Father?” he asked hoarsely.

Sofu nodded firmly. “I know so. I have faith in you, my son. You survived when others might not have under the worst conditions, and you cared enough for the son born of rape, that you sent him away for his own good. You are a survivor, and strong. If you wish to heal and become someone else, then you will do so. I will help you all that I can, I promise.”

“Thank you,” Lord D leaned against his parent a bit, taking courage from Sofu’s gentle strength. “I would like,” he went on musingly in a soft voice, “To change enough that when my sibling is born, he won’t look at me and see someone who is bitter and miserable. I would like him to have a strong big brother, someone he can count on.”

Sofu smiled as he kissed the top of his son’s glossy head tenderly. “I’m sure he will,” he replied simply, complete confidence in his voice. “I’m sure he will.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lord D begins the healing process.

Sofu suggested that his son begin his campaign to heal himself by starting with a human being who was safe. With that in mind, the elder Kami went into the back to find Chris and T-chan, for a human child was as close to harmless as it got. He knew that Leon’s little brother didn’t like his son at all, but once he found the boy he sat Chris down, and tried to explain as though the blonde child were a grown-up. “My son has been hurt,” he told Chris, who looked at him out of those enormous blue eyes. “He was hurt by a human who was very mean to him, and did bad things to him. So he doesn’t like humans anymore, because of that. But he’s come to see that hating all humans, just because one was mean to him, is wrong. He wants to try to learn to get along with humans, but he’s also scared of them. Scared that another one will hurt him. That’s why I’m hoping that you’ll help, Christopher. You’re too little for him to be scared of, but you’re also grown-up enough that he could talk to you. I know you don’t like him, but would you do it for me? Please?”

Chris stared up at the elder Kami. Then he asked softly :Did he cry? When that human was mean to him?:

Sofu nodded gravely. “He cried for a long time. He was very sad. It hurt my heart to see him that way.”

:Oh,: Chris considered this, then said :I cried when my cousin told me I’d killed my Mommy,: he seemed to consider that he and Lord D had a bond over those tears, and Sofu smiled slightly. 

“Very well. Would you be willing to talk to him, then?” The blonde boy nodded, although T-chan scowled. It was clear that the goat boy would not be happy if Lord D was mean to his friend.

Sofu took a deep breath of relief. “Thank you, Christopher. We are both very grateful to you,” he touched the boy’s shoulder, then got to his feet. “I’ll go and tell my son that you’ll talk to him. Please come to the sitting room in a little bit, all right?”

Chris nodded, and the elder Kami returned to Lord D’s bedroom. His son was lying on his bed, looking wan and rather tired, but also far more peaceful than Sofu had seen him in centuries. Purple eyes looked questioningly at him as he came in the door. “Christopher has agreed to talk to you,” his father said. “Please try to be gentle, my son. That boy has been hurt too…that is why he won’t talk aloud anymore. Keep that in mind when you speak to him.”

Lord D nodded as he sat slowly up. “I will try, Father,” he promised sincerely. “I do not wish to hurt a child,” he grimaced. “I have already hurt my own child enough as it is.”

Sofu shook his glossy head. “He understands the circumstances of his birth, my son,” he replied. “And that you could not help reacting the way you did to him.”

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean that I didn’t still hurt him,” Lord D said. “No one wants a parent who doesn’t love them.”

Sofu touched his arm, as he approached the door on rather shaky legs. “At least you never actively hated him,” he pointed out. “Which you legitimately could have, all things considered.”

Lord D sighed. “And at least he had you to love him, Father,” he replied. “Thank you for raising him. You did a wonderful job.”

Sofu smiled. “It wasn’t that hard. He’s a sweet and loving child. As you are finding out for yourself.”

“Yes,” agreed Lord D. “I am very pleased at the way he has turned out in spite of my neglect.”

Sofu shook his head, but didn’t argue over this statement. Lord D knew all that he would say, and the younger Kami would simply have to learn to forgive himself over something he couldn’t have helped. It just went to prove that his son was a loving, gentle soul, for someone as cruel and hard as he pretended to be wouldn’t have cared that the child he’d abandoned had been hurt by his actions. 

 

 

They entered the sitting room, and Sofu indicated that his son should sit down on one of the couches. Then he bustled away to fetch tea and sweet things, while Lord D tried to relax(and failed miserably). This was his first test, he felt, and he didn’t want to blow it. If he couldn’t get along with or communicate with an innocent human child, how could he ever hope to do so with the rest of them? His hands tightened on one another in his lap at this thought, and nervousness roiled in his stomach. When his father glided back into the room carrying a loaded tray, he gave the older Kami a tremulous smile, that told Sofu that his son was feeling very anxious, indeed.

Sofu set the tray down on the table and took his seat. “My son,” he said gently to Lord D, “Please don’t worry. Christopher is a loving child, who won’t hold a grudge against you.”

“I know, Father,” the younger Kami replied. “I just want this to go well,” he continued softly.

Sofu threw him a compassionate look. He knew that his son was determined to try to change himself, but it wasn’t easy when he’d been like this for so long. Before he could say anything else soothing, the beads clattered faintly as Chris came hesitantly into the sitting room, followed by a scowling T-chan. The blonde boy looked from Sofu to Lord D, his big blue eyes clearly asking what he should do. Sofu said to him gently: “Christopher, would you come and sit beside me? My son would like to talk to you.”

The boy nodded, clearly feeling relieved to be able to sit beside the elder Kami while he talked to the not-very-nice one. He threw Lord D a wary look, as he stuck one of his fingers in his mouth. It made the Kami feel bad to see how frightened the child was of him. He sighed, thinking to himself that this was going to be even harder than he’d thought. But he forced himself to speak in a calm, reasonable tone of voice. “Thank you for talking to me today, young Christopher. I know that I haven’t always been very nice to you, or to your brother, either…”

Chris stared at him, but then replied :Grandfather says that a human hurt you real bad:

Lord D felt his hands spasm in his lap. “That’s right,” he replied tightly. “And because of that fact, I’ve hated humans ever since. But it doesn’t make sense for me to hate all of you for something that only one human did to me. It’s wrong, and it’s not fair, either. So I would like to try and change the way I think about humans – or at least the good ones like your brother and Daniel White Horse, anyway. I know that they are decent people, and I want to get along with them…”

:Leon’s great. He’s the best big brother ever,: Chris remarked earnestly. :And Daniel’s really nice.:

“I…am aware of that,” Lord D said. “Which is why I wish to try to set aside my hatred of humans enough to at least get along with both of them if I can.”

: I know you can do it: the boy replied seriously, :Cause I did. When I first came to live with Leon I cried all the time, and I wouldn’t even talk to him like this: he touched his own blonde head, to indicate the fact that he spoke in his thoughts rather than with his mouth. :But I’m getting better. Maybe soon I’ll even talk again. You could do it, too. You just gotta try…and let D help you: he added stoutly. :He helped me a lot:

Lord D stared at the boy, then a small smile played over his lips. “I’m sure you’re right,” he agreed quietly. “I will be happy to let my son help me. Thank you, Christopher.”

The boy nodded. After that the four of them had a more normal conversation, with the two boys scarfing half the plate of sweets, and giggling about a joke that Chris told T-chan. Sofu watched them benevolently as they made much of the family pet, a rather depressed little Pekinese called Cheng Tze. Lord D, watching the two boys romp and play with the dog, realized how much he’d been missing by cutting himself off from the world. He’d forgotten the fact that he’d liked children once upon a time, and that he was enjoying himself now just listening to the human boy and his friend chatter away at each other. He felt a pang of regret that he hadn’t been able to raise D, for being a parent to his eldest son had been a great pleasure for him, despite his grief over the death of the boy’s mother. He’d missed out on so much! His son’s first words, his first step, the first time he’d used the magic inherent in every Kami. While his father could tell him stories about those occurrences, and even show him the memories, it just wasn’t the same. Grief for those lost years rose up in him, and he had to surreptitiously wipe away the tears that were threatening to fall again. 

He felt emotionally shaky at the moment, but also cleansed. He felt like a man who’d been ill or a very long time with a terrible infection, who’d finally lanced the wound, and felt the relief as it drained. It would take time for the wound to heal of course; and much effort on his part. But he was finally willing to try to get better. And it started with something as simple as the blonde boy crouched on the floor, petting the little dog. One baby step at a time, until his metaphorical legs firmed up under him. Then he’d no longer be a cripple, even though the scars would always remain. 

 

 

When Leon and Daniel returned from work that night, they found both of their mates in an excellent mood. Sofu had told D all about Lord D’s catharsis, and also his determination to change. The younger Kami had been overjoyed for his birth parent, and awed about the fact that his grandfather told him that this miracle had been brought about by a HUMAN! None other than the strange, enthusiastic, and oddly-wise Stephen of all people. D shook his head when Sofu told him this. “That human is a remarkable creature, Grandfather. I bless the day he came into this shop. Did Father tell you that Stephen means to woo him?”

Sofu had blinked in astonishment at this fact. “No! Does he?”

“Yes. To tell you the truth, when he first told me this, I believed that Father would eat him alive. But now…now I’m not so sure. Perhaps he, of all humans, has a chance to win Father’s heart.”

“You may be correct,” Sofu had mused. “I must meet this young man, and soon. I confess myself absolutely amazed.”

 

 

Leon and Daniel entered the sitting room, and found their mates sitting together, with no sign of Lord D. The other Kami had gone to lie down for a bit, as the crying jag earlier had given him a massive headache. Sofu had made him some soothing herbal tea and told him to rest. “Hey, D honey, what’s got you so up?” The blonde detective asked as he sat down next to his lovely mate, and cuddled the Kami close.

Sofu smiled at Daniel as his own mate also took a seat next to him, and greeted him with a kiss. D had laid his head against Leon’s broad shoulder. He said: “Leon, I am so happy. My father has finally realized that his hatred of all humans is wrong, and is trying to change. He spent a great deal of time with Chris today, and they got along very well. Isn’t that splendid?”

Leon shared a look with Daniel, who’d lifted his brows slightly. “That true?” he asked Sofu curiously.

 

The elder Kami nodded serenely. “My son had a breakthrough today,” he replied simply. “Thanks to a rather remarkable young human.”

Leon stared at Sofu as Daniel blinked in astonishment. “A human?” The blonde detective repeated in disbelief. “What do you mean, Granddad?”

“Apparently, a young human who came into the shop to get a pet a few days ago said something today to my son that had a profound affect on him. He wouldn’t tell me specifically just what this human said, but whatever it was, made my son look at himself for the first time in a very long while, and not like what he saw at all. So he is determined to become someone different, and he started by becoming friends with young Christopher. I’m afraid that you both can expect him to use you as experiments as well, and I would ask that you forgive him any slip-ups he might make…”

“Wow,” Leon remarked.

Daniel put his arm around Sofu’s slim shoulders. “Of course we’ll forgive him. Everybody backslides a little when they’re going through this kind of thing. And he’s got a lot of stuff to deal with. That he’s willing to try at all makes me admire him.”

Sofu gave him a look of thanks, and the SWAT commander grinned and bussed him lightly on the mouth. “So how’s our little one today?” he asked, changing the subject. He rested a big hand possessively on Sofu’s abdomen, where the first slight swell had appeared a few weeks ago.

“Wonderful,” the elder Kami replied. He laid his hand over Daniel’s and let the human once more See into his womb. The child was a bit bigger now, and clearly very healthy. As usual Daniel was in awe of the tiny life the two of them had made together. 

“Look at those two. You’d think they were the first people in the world to ever have a kid,” Leon remarked to his mate.

D gave him a sideways glance. “And are you saying that you won’t be the same way when I carry YOUR child, Leon?” he asked.

The blonde detective considered this question. “Well, at first I’ll be so terrified that it won’t matter,” he replied honestly.

D gave him a baffled look. “Why would you be scared, Leon?” he questioned.

The human laughed wryly. “Oh, come on, D! Me, a dad! God help us all when our time comes around.”

“But Leon, you have been an excellent surrogate parent to your brother. I do not understand why you think you’d be a bad father to our potential child,” the Kami protested. 

The blonde sighed. “I dunno. Guess I just don’t trust myself,” he remarked with a shrug.

“Well I trust you,” D replied firmly, setting his hand over Leon’s as he met those clear blue eyes steadily. “ I know that you will be a wonderful father. That is one of the things that has never concerned me when I think of getting pregnant by you.”

Leon felt himself softening under the barrage of emotions he was getting from his mate. What had he ever done in the scheme of things to deserve someone so great? He just didn’t know nor did he care. He was going to thank his lucky stars for D and try to never take the gift for granted. He cupped the lovely Kami’s face in his hands. “Well, if you say so than it has to be so, D,” he replied simply.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The return of Stephen

The next few weeks were strange ones for Lord D. He’d lived so long with his hatred and fear that they had become normal for him. It was almost bewildering to have them lifting away, like a terrible weight he’d carried for centuries, without being aware of it. The relief and lightness he felt were stunning. He was spending hours every day with Chris and T-chan, as the human child was still the best way for him to relearn interaction with that species. He found he enjoyed this time immensely, as he was also remembering what it was like to play again. He felt almost like a child again himself when he romped with the human boy and the goat child, and he’d laughed more in these past few weeks than he had since the Kami massacre at the Imperial Palace so long ago. 

Now that he could look at the two adult humans who lived in the shop with less biased eyes, he could see clearly just how much they loved and cherished their Kami mates. Moreover, he saw(and envied more than a tad) the way that Sofu and D glowed whenever they saw their mates. He never would have imagined that he’d feel wistful about his father and son forming mating bonds with humans…! He startled both men by talking civilly to them at dinner, that first night after he’d spoken with Chris. He talked to them without the usual edge in his voice, and they were polite in return. Although he could see that they were still wary of his transformation, which was something he couldn't blame them for; he’d acted abominably toward them in the time he’d been living here. But he hoped for a better rapport with both of the human males mated to his relatives in the future as he finally began to heal. 

Lord D found that he often felt genuinely happy now. Not all the time, of course, but anything was a victory for him. Moreover, he felt another emotion that he hadn’t felt in so long that he’d genuinely forgotten what it was like – hope. When he put his hand on his father’s abdomen and Saw the child growing within, he could smile in anticipation of his birth. And as his relationship with his son grew better and better, he began to feel as though they were a real family again. It was a wonderful time for the scarred Kami – with one exception.

In these last few weeks, he hadn’t seen Stephen once. He often worked in the front shop now, because he wanted to learn how to interact with the human customers better. Each time that the bell rang, he’d looked up with his heart in his throat. But it was never the tall young human with the bright smile and the kind eyes who entered the shop. And each time that it wasn’t Stephen, depression and disappointment flowed through him. He knew that it was ridiculous to pine after a human, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. This man had changed his life down to its foundations, and then he’d callously deserted Lord D. At least that’s how the Kami felt, when day after day passed with no sign of the young human in the shop. He couldn’t even thank Stephen for what he’d said, and he at least wanted to express his gratitude if nothing else…

 

 

Sofu watched his son moping about the shop one day. While Lord D had said nothing about what was causing his malaise, both Sofu and D knew. “He misses Stephen,” D had said a few days ago to his grandfather. “He won’t admit it, but it’s obvious. I wish we could do something…”

Sofu had agreed, but he’d also sighed and pointed out: “It’s up to that young human to come back here if he wishes. We cannot force him to. But when you told me how intent he was on wooing your father, I thought that…”

“So did I,” D had replied sadly. “But perhaps something happened to change his mind. I don’t know. Poor Father.”

 

Sofu stood in the doorway of the sitting room, one of his hands resting on the slight bulge of his abdomen. His thumb stroked over the mound idly, as his golden eyes rested on his son. Lord D was busy stocking the shelves, bustling around as though he didn’t have a care in the world. But the older Kami had had centuries to learn his son’s behavioral patterns, and he knew how good Lord D was at hiding what he really felt. The set of the younger Kami’s shoulders told him a lot by themselves, as did Lord D’s body language. He shook his head silently, wishing he knew what to do in this situation. He was greatly tempted to have either Leon or Daniel track down this young human, since they had his name and address on the papers he’d filled out when he’d bought the raven. But what good would it do to have either he or his grandson’s mate show up at this Stephen’s door, if the human just wasn’t interested in Lord D anymore? They couldn’t make him be so. 

The doorbell rang, but Lord D didn’t turn around to greet the customer. He was busy, and frankly he was also tired of being disappointed. He heard his father gasp a little, and then a wash of goosebumps ran down his skin as a by-now familiar voice spoke behind him. “Hey,” it said. “I’m back.”

Lord D whirled around, a hand to his breast, and looked up into a friendly face, and a pair of searching teal-blue eyes. Stephen smiled at him tentatively. “How are you?” he asked, and this was more than just a friendly enquiry after his health. The Kami could see that in the serious stare, as the tall human met his eyes. 

Relief made his legs go weak, and he shivered faintly. But somehow he pulled himself together enough to answer semi-calmly. “I’m fine,” he replied, and let his tone of voice give that simple answer more layers than one. 

Stephen studied his face, and then nodded. He smiled again, like the sun coming out from behind the clouds, as he said: “Good,” in a satisfied tone of voice. 

Lord D wanted to reach out and touch the young human, to make sure he was really here, but centuries of shying away from touching humans could not be overcome in just a few weeks. His voice was tense as he asked tightly: “Why…? Why did you stay away for so long?” Then he realized how this question sounded, and a red stain rose in his porcelain cheeks, as he suddenly became interested in the front windows, as though the street outside were intensely fascinating to him.

Stephen blinked, taken aback by this question. Then he grinned slyly, as he answered in a voice that was faintly caressing: “Well, I wanted you to have some time to think about what I said to you, and I also wanted to give you some space. I knew you were struggling with a lot of stuff, and I didn’t want to add to your burden. Also, me and Buddy have been studying for finals,” he added ruefully, “So I’ve been really busy, anyway.”

Lord D’s purple eyes slewed back to his face. “Finals?” he repeated in non-comprehension.

“Yeah. I’m getting my Master’s Degree in college, so I don’t always have a ton of time to have a personal life,” Stephen explained with a slight shrug. The raven on his shoulder cawed at him, then nibbled at his ear in retaliation for his sudden movement. 

The Kami was a little startled to learn that this human was in college, and that moreover he was working toward a higher degree, which meant that he had to have passed a lower set of courses, as well. Stephen seemed wise beyond his years about some things, but he didn’t seem as though he were very bright otherwise. But he didn’t want to hurt the human’s feelings, so he asked carefully: “What subject are you getting this degree in?” 

He expected to hear something like philosophy or art, but to both to his shock and his father’s, Stephen replied easily: “Computational physics and quantum mechanics. I’m almost finished, but there’s still a PhD to get through. Not that that should take me very long – I figure that I’ll be able to get my PhD in time for my twenty-sixth birthday.”

Stunned silence, as Lord D gaped at the tall human. Stephen waited patiently for him to recover, an amused look in the teal-blue eyes. Clearly he knew that the Kami hadn’t thought him to be very bright mentally, but he wasn’t bothered by it. His fingers rubbed at the raven’s breast idly, and Buddy cocked his head as he stared at Lord D out of a black bead of an eye. A clearing of the throat made them both look at Sofu, who was still standing in the doorway of the sitting room. “Hi,” Stephen said, looking the older Kami over. “I haven’t met you before this. I’m Stephen Caldwell,” he added.

Sofu smiled slightly. “I know who you are,” he replied. “I am called Sofu. It is very nice to meet you at last. My son and grandson have told me about you.”

“Your son…he’s your son?” Stephen waved a hand at Lord D, who was finally regaining some of his equilibrium again. 

“Yes, that is correct. Won’t you come in here and sit down? Do you like tea?” Sofu lifted the beads that hung over the sitting room door as he looked at the young human, and Stephen nodded as he started toward Sofu.

“Sure, that’d be great.” But he stopped and looked over his shoulder. “Are you gonna come too?” he asked Lord D hopefully.

Lord D cursed the faint blush that seemed to be rising in his cheeks again. “Of course,” he said, trying to conceal just how much Stephen seemed to fluster him without even trying. He began to walk toward the sitting room as the tall human ducked his head a bit to get through the door, and Sofu shot him a faintly amused look, as the older Kami also entered the sitting room. He came into the room to find Sofu already sitting serenely on one of the couches, with Stephen on the other one. He hurried to sit down next to his parent, as Sofu poured the human a cup of tea and handed it to him. 

Stephen started to take a drink, but he’d been looking at Sofu as he did so, and he suddenly choked and spluttered. “Are you all right?” The older Kami asked in concern.

“Y-Yes! Sure! I just…” Stephen trailed off as his eyes lowered to fasten on the older Kami’s abdomen. “This is gonna sound weird,” he began, “But are you…I could swear that you’re…pregnant.” He said in confusion.

Sofu smiled again. “That is correct,” he replied, which made the young human’s jaw drop.

“How is that possible?! Aren’t you a guy?” he asked in bewilderment.

“I am male, yes. But Kami males are able to have children, just as our females are. There is a good reason for that biologically – the births of Kami males versus females is something like a hundred to one or more. If we males couldn’t have children, our race would die out altogether.”

“Oh,” Stephen looked fascinated. Then his head whipped around and he stared at Lord D. “You said that younger guy was your son, did you…”

Lord D found himself wanting to laugh. “Yes,” he replied, his purple eyes gleaming, “I gave birth to my son, just as my father is going to have my half-brother.”

“Wow,” Stephen breathed, shaking his head. “That’s pretty weird. Almost as cool as dark matter,” he added, making both Kamis stare at him blankly. “Never mind,” he muttered, not wanting to get into such a complex subject at the moment.

Stephen reached into his pocket to retrieve a packet of crackers for his raven. “Would it be rude of me to ask you how old you are?” he asked Sofu. 

“No. We Kami do not have your human hang-ups about our age. I am a little over ten thousands years old, which is very early middle age for a Kami.”

The young human whistled as he fed the raven a cracker. “Whoa. You could get some serious senior citizen discounts – if you could actually convince anybody of just how old you really are,” he observed.

Sofu chuckled. “And there are times when I feel every year of my age,” he said. “Sometimes it seems insane to me that I’m to be a parent again at my advanced age.”

“How did you…ummm…” Stephen turned rather red himself from embarrassment. “Uhh, never mind,” he went on hurriedly.

Lord D found himself fighting back a giggle at the expression on the young human’s face. Sofu was laughing openly, his golden eyes twinkling. “The normal way, I assure you,” he teased. “Although it was helped along by the fact that I formed a Kami mating bond with a human male.”

“A what?” Stephen looked interested.

“A Kami mating bond,” Sofu repeated. “Something unique to our race. It’s a bond that persists for life between the mated pair, and it makes the chances of conception much higher. Which is how I got..Errr…‘knocked up’, I believe the human phrase is.”

Stephen laughed good-naturedly. “Okay. What do you get a pregnant Kami anyway? For the baby shower that is.”

Sofu looked puzzled over this phrase, as did Lord D. “Baby shower? It starts raining babies?” the older Kami asked.

Stephen choked on his laughter. “Sorry,” he said when he could speak. “No. It’s a human thing, a party where expectant mothers are given presents for their babies.”

“I see,” Sofu mused. “Perhaps I should ask Daniel about having one of these ‘baby showers’. Or Jill, as something tells me a human woman would enjoy throwing such a party.”

“Probably,” Stephen agreed. “Uhh, listen. Thanks for the tea, but I really came here today to ask..Umm…” he turned his teal-blue eyes to Lord D earnestly.

“My son is called Lord D,” Sofu supplies helpfully. “As my grandson is Count D, and I am Sofu D.”

“Hmm. Anyway,” Stephen met the Kami’s glorious purple eyes again, “I was wondering if you’d like to go for a walk with me.”

Lord D blinked as Sofu raised his brows slightly. The young human lifted his shoulders slightly, making his raven sidle a bit. “I wanted to ask you out on a regular date,” he began quietly, “But the truth is, I think it might be better if we started out simple at first. If we take a walk, we’ll be surrounded by other people, and you can go home at any time. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable,” he added, as the Kamis exchanged glances. 

Lord D felt warmth start up in the pit of his stomach, as he realized that Stephen was referring to his still somewhat fragile emotional state. It appeared that the young human was trying to be careful of it - this man was amazingly kind and considerate of his feelings. The Kami found himself telling the truth, without reservation: “I would very much like that,” he said, then looked startled by his own honesty.

Stephen’s face glowed. “Great,” he said happily. He surged to his feet, the raven Buddy staying on his shoulder by digging its claws into the fabric of Stephen’s shirt. Clearly the raven had learned to accommodate to his companion’s sudden movements out of sheer self-defense. 

To Lord D’s surprise, the young human circled the table and held out a hand to help him up. The Kami stared at that hand for a moment, thinking to himself how very long it had been since he’d let a human touch him…his own slim hand was shaking when he lifted it and set it in Stephen’s . The young human pulled gently, and the Kami was distracted by the warmth and hardness of the palm under his own hand. Then he was on his feet, and Stephen graciously offered his arm to Lord D. But the Kami eyed him over this one, saying rather acerbically: “I am not a woman.”

“Okay,” Stephen replied, lowering his arm without looking the least bit offended. He started slowly toward the door of the sitting room, and Lord D kept pace with him. Watching them go, Sofu smiled widely to himself. He was in an unparalleled good mood today, and he laid his hand atop his stomach as he sent a thought curling down into his womb. 'I think that remarkable young human will be the best thing that has ever happened to your brother' he told his child in satisfaction.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lord D tells Stephen about what made him the way he is.

Lord D walked beside Stephen’s much taller form, feeling positively dainty next to his human companion. He glanced up at Stephen’s profile, and the teal-blue eyes turned his way, as though the human had felt the weight of his purple gaze. “I’m really glad that you agreed to come with me,” Stephen remarked earnestly. “I wasn’t sure if you would or not. After all, I’m just a human.”

The Kami spoke up sharply, not liking that phrase. “You are not JUST a human, Stephen. My dislike of your species was irrational to be so all-encompassing. Your kind is not all bad, as my kind is not all good. I can see that now – because of you. I will never forget what you have done for me,” he said in a softer voice, still looking into those expressive blue eyes. 

Stephen shook his head. “I didn’t do much,” he replied with conviction. “It’s you who did all the hard work. It’s not easy to change, even for the better – you should be proud of yourself. I know that I’M proud of you,” he went on, beaming down at the Kami. “It’s really cool that you admitted you had a problem, and then did something about it.”

Lord D felt that peculiar sensation of warmth in his stomach again. Why should a human’s opinion matter to him at all? But this one’s did obviously. He liked the fact that Stephen Caldwell was proud of him. Suddenly, he had the oddest urge to confide in the seemingly innocent, yet startlingly wise, human. “Stephen,” he said.

“Yeah?” the human glanced down at him again, although his long fingers continued to stroke his raven’s breast. 

“I want to tell you…about what happened to me,” Lord D said gravely.

The young human sucked in a sharp breath, his eyes rather wide. Clearly he understood just how momentous this statement was. “Are you sure?” he asked, to give Lord D an out should he change his mind.

The Kami nodded his glossy-black head. “Yes. I have told no one but my father and eldest son about my ordeal, and perhaps keeping it locked away inside of myself is one of the reasons that I’m still so damaged. It is hard to talk about, but I would like to try to tell you, if you’ll listen.”

“Of course I will,” Stephen replied gently. “I’ll listen to anything you have to say to me. But don’t push yourself too hard - if it starts to get bad, then stop talking.”

Lord D nodded. He was glad that they were walking the streets of Chinatown, where many of the residents did not speak fluent English. He didn’t want anyone else to overhear the tale he was about to tell Stephen, partially because he wanted it to be private, and partially because of the fact that his ordeal had taken place over a thousand years ago. He didn’t want to advertise the fact that he was a spirit to all and sundry. He looked down at the pavement, as he tried to order his thoughts. His hands knotted in front of him in an anxious gesture that made Stephen give the top of his head a worried look, although the human said nothing. He wanted to give the Kami all the time and space he needed to be able to speak about what had happened to make him into a bitter, hating creature, rather than the sweet-natured, loving being that the young human sensed under the mask that he wore.

“My story begins a very long time ago, at the court of a Chinese Emperor,” Lord D began tightly at last. “Our kind was welcomed there, for our knowledge and magical abilities both. Many of my folk resided at the palace, and were treated with respect. Our quarters were lavish; we were fed delicacies from many lands, and were clothed in the finest silks and brocade. I lived there with my lover, who was a noblewoman. She was very beautiful,” the Kami said, his voice sad as he remembered that long ago love, “And very kind. She bore me a son – my oldest child. I was very happy.”

“But I left with my father to go to another land, to try and free some tigers that were being kept by the ruler of that place in caged misery. When we went, everything was peaceful at the court. Little did we know that something awful was on its way. One of the crown princesses, who was married to a powerful nobleman, had been sleeping with one of my kind secretly. She was unhappy in her marriage - which had been arranged of course - and her husband was a brute. She found happiness with her Kami lover, but at such a cost to us all…” he sighed tiredly, shaking his head. 

“What happened?” Stephen asked, enthralled. 

“She became with child. Her husband was pleased at first, for none of his wives or concubines had ever been able to produce an heir for him. But the child was not his, of course. It was her lover’s. And because it had a Kami father, the child itself was one of our kind. That was obvious when it was born, and the husband flew into a rage when he saw the boy. He went to the Emperor, demanding the life of his wife’s lover. The Emperor himself was so incensed when he learned of his daughter’s infidelity, that he went more than a little mad with rage. Perhaps he felt that he’d been betrayed by the spirits, whom he’d coddled and pampered and treated practically as though they were gods. He ordered the massacre of every Kami living in the palace.”

Stephen drew in a harsh breath. “Oh, man,” he murmured sympathetically.

“Indeed. My father and I only received word of the massacre when a handmaiden loyal to my lover appeared with my son in her arms – the Emperor had even sent troops to butcher my young child. My lover was dead defending our son - and most of our family and friends were dead, as well. I went mad with grief for awhile, and I don’t remember much of that time. When I finally came back to myself, my son was almost five. My father and I had been wandering the world, avoiding humans when we could. This isolation helped greatly, and after awhile my mind healed somewhat from the overwhelming grief over what had happened. I might have recovered totally, but when my son was finally grown and my father and I had started to venture forth into human lands once more, something else happened…” he trailed off, his mouth tightening, as he struggled to speak about the event that had traumatized him so badly.

A hand came to rest lightly on his shoulder, not pressing down at all. This comforting touch helped to center him, and he gave Stephen a grateful look. “There was a human lord who saw me in the street one day,” he husked out, “He came up to me, and told me that I was beautiful. He wanted me to become his concubine, and he offered me wealth, and a gilded cage if I would agree. I turned him down, of course, because I didn’t like the look of him, and I could barely tolerate humans as it was. I was very short with him, and he was angry and offended that I had humiliated him in public.”

He stopped again, and Stephen waited patiently. They’d stopped walking, and the Kami stood with bowed head. The young human let his fingers very softly rub over the silk of Lord D’s cheongsam. Compassion and sadness shone in his teal-blue eyes. “They came for me the next day,” Lord D choked out. “Soldiers, who’d been sent from HIM. I fought them, but…” he was trembling now. 

“Shh, shh, it’s okay, sweetness, you don’t have to say anything else,” Stephen crooned. His fingers sank into the glossy hair, stroking it tenderly. 

“No. I want to say this,” Lord D replied. “I need to tell you. This darkness has been inside of me for so very long, eating at me… I want to be free of it.”

“All right,” the young human waited again, continuing his caresses.

 

At last the Kami said: “They overwhelmed me with numbers, and one knelt on me and forced my mouth open. I could do nothing but swallow the opium mixture they forced down my throat. Everything went muzzy for a time - and when I came to myself again, I was naked and chained to a bed. Then he came into the room, that lord, and said that I was going to pay for humiliating him and turning him down. And then he forced himself on me over and over again. Days passed, then weeks. I couldn’t do anything to fight back or stop him, and he deliberately hurt me as much as he possibly could. Do you know, I had heard of this human idea of Hell, but until then I had not believed in it…”

“Jesus,” Stephen breathed. “You poor thing. How did you get away from him?”

“He’d overstepped his bounds, and tried to grab too much power for himself. Soldiers came to his house one day. I heard screams out in the hall, then they appeared at the door of my room. When they saw me chained to the bed, they had a blacksmith come in and free me. I ran then, and managed to get back to my father. But I was not right after that,and I hated all humans. I couldn’t even stand the sight of them…”

“Understandable,” the young human replied wryly. “I don’t blame you at all.”

“But,” Lord D lifted his chin so that he could gaze into those true-blue eyes once more. “You were right in what you said to me. By letting this anger and fear control my life, I have been hurting no one but myself and my family. The man who abused me is long dead. I do not wish for him to have control over my life anymore. He hurt me once – I do not wish to let the memory of what he did to me go on hurting me any longer.”

Admiration shone in the gentle teal eyes. “You rock hard, Lord D,” Stephen said, making the Kami give him a puzzled look. “What I mean,” he added with a smile “Is that I think that you’re really strong, and a survivor. It’s awesome that you’re trying to get past this. Lots of people might not have been able to at all. I’m pretty sure I couldn’t,” he added ruefully. 

Lord D was taken aback. He’d never thought of himself as being strong, not after the way he’d reacted to his abuse. But it had never occurred to him that others might not have fared any better in the same situation, and that some might even have fared much worse. Stephen always did this – put things in perspective for him. He felt yet another weight lift off of his slim shoulders, and to the young human’s surprise and delight, a tremulous smile spread over the red lips. The spirit was even more exquisite like this, and his breath was literally taken away. “Whoa,” he said under his breath, his fingers lifting to cradle the pointed chin. 

Feeling the heat of those fingertips on his skin made a shiver run through Lord D’s body. To his astonishment and wonder, he felt something that he had not in so long that it had become a dim memory - desire. He gasped, unable to look away from those steady blue eyes, lost in their depths. His body stirred to life in a way that he’d never imagined that it ever would again. He might have been frightened by this revival, in fact, if it had been anyone but Stephen causing it. But he instinctively trusted this human, despite everything that had happened to him. Seeing something in those purple eyes, Stephen drew in a deep breath of his own. The blue eyes darkened, and he shuddered slightly. 

“Oh, boy,” he muttered. “I think,” he added, closing his eyes, “That I’d better take you home now, okay? For now,” he went on. “I’ll come again tomorrow if that’s all right with you,” he reopened his eyes, looking down at the Kami who was fighting to pull himself together as well. 

Lord D nodded slightly, his breathing still erratic. Stephen reached out to lightly take his arm and both of them felt a surge of electricity down their nerves. The young human pulled back quickly, as Lord D stared at him with wide purple eyes. “Uh,” Stephen said, “Guess that’s a bad idea,” he remarked as he stepped back a little. 

The Kami agreed with this, for it felt like his limbs were barely working anymore. He fell into step beside Stephen, as the young human began to walk back toward the pet shop, and neither said anything as they went. But it wasn’t an uncomfortable silence, despite what had just passed between them. For some reason Lord D felt surprisingly calm and peaceful. Maybe it was telling Stephen what had happened to him. Maybe it was the startling resurgence within him of desire. Or perhaps it was simply the presence of the tall young human walking beside him. Whatever the case, the Kami felt truly free for the first time in centuries. It was an astonishing feeling, and one which he knew was partly due to Stephen Caldwell. He silently thanked whatever gods had sent this man into his life as they arrived at the door of the pet shop.

 

 

Stephen paused outside the door, looking down at him. “Will you come in?” Lord D asked him hopefully. 

“Umm, not today. I’ve gotta go.” He glanced at his watch. “Real life calls,” he added with a grimace. “I have a full ride for college, but I work as a landscaper part-time to make some spending money. I’ve got a job at three o’clock. But I’ll definitely be here tomorrow. Is there any time you prefer?” he asked the Kami.

“No, you may come whenever you like,” Lord D replied.

“Okay. I’ll see you, then,” he paused, and as though he couldn’t help himself his hand lifted to lightly touch one of the Kami’s porcelain cheeks. His fingertips stroked over the white skin, and Lord D drew in a long breath at this butterfly touch. “A total babe,” Stephen murmured, his eyes smiling. “Buddy and I will see you tomorrow,” he drew his fingers away reluctantly. He turned away toward the small car parked at the curb, and the Kami watched him go.

He drove away with a wave, and Lord D went into the pet shop at last. Sofu was behind the counter, and the elder Kami smiled at him. “How was your walk, my son?” he asked. 

“It was…fine,” the undertones in his voice made Sofu’s smile widen. 

“I see,” he murmured, his golden eyes twinkling. “Where is Stephen?”

“He had to go to work. But he said that he’ll return tomorrow.”

“Ahh. That is good news,” Sofu replied. “I can’t wait to see that delightful young human again, I confess.”

Lord D just looked at him. “Neither can I, Father, neither can I,” he said.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lord D and Stephen have some alone time together...

Two weeks passed. Stephen came to the shop every day to see Lord D. Sometimes they took walks, but mostly the two spent time together in the sitting room. Sofu discretely disappeared into the back every day, saying that he had to lie down. Lord D knew that this was just an excuse on his father's part to leave him and Stephen alone together, and appreciated his parent's tact. He found that he trusted Stephen Caldwell utterly, and wasn’t the least bit afraid to be alone with a human. Or this particular human, anyway. Sofu always left a tea tray for the two of them, and so far they’d only just talked. Neither had done anything about the burgeoning desire blossoming between them, although both felt it acutely. Especially Lord D, for the Kami had been almost asexual since suffering at the hands of his human captor. To actually experience desire once more was both exhilarating, and also a tad frightening for him.

On the sixth day, the two men were actually alone together in the shop. Leon and Daniel had a coordinated day off, and the humans had taken their significant others, as well as Chris and T-chan, off to the park. It had actually been Sofu’s idea for his son to stay behind and watch the shop, and his golden eyes had been smiling when he made this suggestion. Because the elder Kami knew that a certain human would be dropping by again today...and this would give Lord D and Stephen a chance to be together. Who knew what would happen then?

Lord D stood behind the counter after his family had departed, feeling a tad nervous. His purple eyes kept straying to the door, even though he knew that Stephen probably wouldn’t arrive for several hours. Even the thought of being alone with the young human made his breath start to hitch in his chest a bit. His hands curled into fists on the counter, his nails nearly cutting into the skin of his palms. His body was reminding him urgently of just what it felt like to lust after someone, to want and need. He hadn’t so far ‘helped himself’, because he hadn’t quite worked up the courage to do so. It had been so long - he’d actually become used to not feeling anything. This return to life was a bit nerve-wracking, even if it was also quite exciting. And he thought he’d work up the nerve sometime soon, because even being near Stephen made him almost frantic with lust. He wanted to do so many things - but he also couldn’t quite bring himself to initiate anything between the two of them yet…

And he knew that Stephen was patiently waiting for his signal. The young human didn’t want to frighten him or make him uncomfortable in any way. While he greatly appreciated this consideration, at the same time Lord D almost wished that Stephen would just overwhelm him. That he would take the decision out of his hands, as well as the anxiety. He sighed, running a hand over his glossy hair. He knew that today would be a pivotal day between them, because of the fact that they’d be alone together. He felt dry-mouthed and a little frantic, his emotions all over the place. He was practically trembling. But he also knew that he desperately wanted Stephen to appear, no matter what. Images of being touched by those gentle hands, to be kissed by that smiling mouth…

He shuddered, closing his eyes. This was going to be the longest wait of his entire life. For now, he tried to find things to do around the shop to occupy his mind, being only mildly successful. He stocked the shelves and dusted, attending to the few customers who came in. As he was talking to an elderly lady who’d just purchased a parakeet, he heard the bell chime on the door. He looked up, and his breath left him in a rush when he saw the tall blue-haired figure who strode in from outside. Stephen grinned in welcome, his raven Buddy inevitably perched on his shoulder. The bird spread its wings a bit, resettling itself as the young human stopped just inside the door, and waited patiently for his favorite Kami to finish with the elderly customer. 

With those teal-blue eyes resting on him, Lord D became rather fumbling. He even forgot what he was saying for a moment. Stephen’s smile widened when he saw this, for he was amused by the sight of the usually rather composed Kami acting like a nervous teenager. Lord D gave him an exasperated look, and he looked away to conceal his gleaming eyes. But finally the transaction was completed, and the grey-haired old lady fluttered away with her new pet in a cage. Lord D looked at Stephen, as she exited the shop with a cage clutched in both of her hands. 

“Hello, Stephen,” he said.

“Hi,” the young human replied cheerfully. “How’s things?”

“Very well, thank you,” the Kami said coolly. “I…” he hesitated. “I’m afraid that I’m the only person in the shop today.”

Stephen’s brows shot up. “How come?” he asked in an interested voice.

“Because my father's and son’s human mates both had a day off today, so they all decided to go to the park. They left me in charge of the shop,” he added unnecessarily.

An expression of acute interest entered the blue eyes. “Oh, really?” Stephen said. “So it’s just you and me today?”

The Kami nodded, feeling completely breathless and rather light-headed. “Would you…like to come into the sitting room?” Lord D went on, hearing his voice crack in a way it had not since he was the Kami equivalent of a teenager.

“I’d love to,” Stephen said, and it seemed that his voice was dropping in register a bit. The sound of it made butterflies start fluttering in Lord D’s stomach. He rounded the counter, his legs feeling stiff and almost rubbery, and his skin prickling with an awareness of Stephen’s eyes on him. The tall young human followed him through the beads into the sitting room, promptly taking his seat on one of the couches just like he normally did. 

Lord D felt a bit of relief at the human's actions, although he also felt a lance of disappointment. He want over to the other couch, wishing that he could just work up the courage to sit down next to Stephen instead of across from him. His hands shook, as he reached out to pour some tea for both of them, while the young human watched him keenly. 

He reached across the table to hand Stephen a cup of tea, and then gasped in shock and nearly dropped it, as long fingers closed over his delicate wrist instead of the handle of the china cup. The heat of the human’s skin seemed to sear him, as his purple eyes lifted to a pair of intense blue ones and a sensual smile slid over Stephen’s mouth. “God, you’re beautiful,” the young human remarked, causing a flush to rise in Lord D’s cheeks, “Have I told you that lately?” his thumb began to stroke over the skin of the Kami’s wrist, and he lost the ability to breathe entirely. 

“Now that it’s just you and me,” Stephen continued in a deep, soft voice that made the Kami feel like his brain was going to implode, “What shall we do, hmm? Do you have any ideas?” 

“Uhhh…” Lord D struggled to speak coherently, but it just didn’t seem possible. 

Slowly Stephen stood up, never releasing the slim wrist. First he carefully urged his raven to perch on the back of the couch, then he circled the table, smiling, his blue eyes never wavering from the wide pair of purple ones staring up at him. “I’m sure we’ll think of something,” he purred throatily.

He sat down beside the frozen Kami, finally releasing Lord D’s wrist. His closeness was almost overwhelming, and the poor befuddled Kami didn’t know quite what to do. But Stephen reached out to put an arm over his shoulders very lightly, never bearing down. His hand stroked over the Kami’s shoulder tenderly. “I like doing this with you,” Stephen added, turning his head to bury his nose in Lord D’s glossy hair. “You smell so good,” he crooned, and the Kami was nearly panting by this time. “And you feel so good, too,” he went on, and his fingers burned Lord D through the material of his cheongsam. 

“Stephen…” he managed to say, but it came out as a gasp.

“Yeah?” hot air blew into a delicate ear at this idle question, and Lord D shivered. He couldn’t think of anything else to say, and a soft laugh followed.

“Well, babe? You want something?” Stephen said. “You want to play Monopoly? Or Trivial Pursuit? I’m great at Trivial Pursuit,” the young human husked.

Lord D turned his head with an effort, and met those gleaming blue eyes head on. The young human waited – and the Kami finally found his courage. He moved, taking Stephen by surprise, closing his lips over the human’s, as a desperate hunger welled up in him. For a moment Stephen was unresponsive, then a hand buried itself in the Kami’s glossy hair, as the young human opened his mouth and began to kiss Lord D back with a devastating thoroughness. Lord D moaned into the mouth moving over his, and a tongue took advantage to thrust inward in a gentle claiming. Somehow his arms lifted to close over a pair of broad shoulders, and the Kami lost himself in a pleasurable activity that he’d almost forgotten how to do. 

He was so intent on what was happening where their mouths mated and merged, that he almost didn’t feel Stephen’s free hand gliding down the front of his cheongsam. That was, until he felt it close over a certain sensitive part of his body - then he gasped into the kiss, as the human’s hands lightly cupped the erection under the silk. “Ahh, ahh!” he cried into Stephen’s mouth, as long fingers softly stroked over the hidden bulge.

Lord D’s head fell back, and his body arched. Stephen took advantage of this to kiss a trail down his neck, and the Kami shuddered. His nails cut into the fabric of Stephen’s shirt. Fingers began to lift the front of the cheongsam, pushing it up, and it was all that Lord D could do to just breathe. His hips lifted naturally, and this only facilitated Stephen’s maneuver. The human arrived at the narrow silk pants, and his fingers wormed their way under the waistband. He grinned against the slender arch of a throat, as the Kami moaned helplessly and squirmed against him. His hand had closed over a rigid length between the lovely creature’s thighs, and he stroked it from root to tip, slowly. He relished each cry that the Kami gave forth, for he suspected that Lord D had not felt anything like this in a very long time. His own sister’s sex drive had been almost nil for a long time after her rape. He tightened his grip a bit, licking at the soft skin under his mouth tenderly.

“Now this is a nice activity,” he growled against Lord D’s throat. “What do you think, babe?”

The only response to this was another loud moan. He sent his free hand down to help get the beautiful creature out of his pants, and they were soon sliding down Lord D’s hips. Looking down, Stephen noticed that the Kami didn’t have any pubic hair. He rubbed a thumb over the leaking tip of the cock he held in his hand, and Lord D whimpered and thrust his hips up at the human frantically. “Feels good, doesn’t it?” the human asked. “Bet it’s been awhile for you. So I’ll finish you off quick this time, okay?” 

Lord D only stared up at him with glazed purple eyes. Stephen lowered his mouth and kissed the Kami once more, adoring the sweet mouth under his own. His fingers caressed the length of the cock in his hand, moving the foreskin back and forth. He was curious about this novelty, since he’d never been with an uncircumcised guy before this. He tightened his grip and began a regular, metronomic motion intended to finish the gorgeous creature off. Lord D was making loud noises against his mouth, and the fingers clutching at his shoulders dug in painfully. He ignored this discomfort, because he was enjoying himself thoroughly. To be able to help Lord D to come after who knew how long… he couldn’t wait to see and feel that. The slim body in his arms was shaking, and the porcelain skin had flushed a deep-rose color, as the Kami began to rise toward orgasm. Wild cries were lost in the mouth eating at his, as Lord D tensed with the pleasure rising up in him. Purple eyes went wide, nails closed hard through fabric and skin, and the Kami cried out as his climax took him. 

He came and came for what seemed like forever. Stephen’s fingers milked him, coaxing the last of the semen out of him, as he slumped against the human’s chest. All of the energy seemed to have run out of him. Stephen lifted his head at last, looking in satisfaction at the limp, red-faced creature panting against him. He laid kisses across porcelain cheekbones, adoring this being with all of his heart and soul. When he’d first walked into the exotic Chinese pet shop, and had seen the beautiful being manning the counter, he’d recognized Lord D as someone who would become very important to him, very quickly. Here, his heart had told him, was someone familiar and well loved. It was as though they’d known each other forever. There was no way that he would have let the Kami put him off, because as far as Stephen Caldwell was concerned, they were destined to be together. And so they would be, if he had his way. He often got his way, especially when he really wanted something. He was amazingly stubborn when he was intent on something. And this was one of the most important things that he would ever do, so he couldn’t fail at it. No way, no how.

 

 

Lord D panted heavily, lying against Stephen’s chest as he recovered from that overwhelming experience. His body throbbed with the aftershocks of pleasure, a wonderful sensation that he’d all but forgotten. Stephen’s hands stroked down his back soothingly, as the human patiently waited for him to come back to Earth. He closed his eyes - feeling languid and tired and very, very good. There was such a sensation of peace within him – as though in this human’s arms was exactly where he belonged. He had never felt this way with any other lover, not even the mother of his oldest child. He felt a kiss on the top of his head, and Stephen’s voice spoke above him: “Wow, that was pretty special,” he murmured. “I loved watching you. You’re so gorgeous when you come.”

Lord D felt rather embarrassed, his cheeks heating even further at these words. He buried his face in the front of the human’s shirt, making Stephen laugh softly. “You’re pretty cute, too,” the human went on. He paused, then continued: “So you want to play Trivial Pursuit now?” 

Lord D was pulled out of his embarrassment by this statement, and he ended up laughing himself. Stephen’s blue eyes were twinkling when he raised his head to look into them. “You are very silly, Stephen,” Lord D said mock-severely.

The young human nodded. “I know,” he replied. “But something tells me that that’s exactly what you need. You gotta laugh more, you know? Life’s here to be enjoyed, after all. Not worried over or endured,” he ran a finger over one cheekbone tenderly. 

Lord D considered his words. The young human was right, he thought. And from now on the Kami would try to do just that – enjoy his life, rather than just endure it as he’d been doing for so long. He gave the human a grateful look as he said: “Thank you, Stephen.” With a wealth of different meanings in his voice.

“You’re very welcome,” the human replied promptly. “Anytime, babe, anytime.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Several hot little interludes with our favorite Kami/human couples...

When everybody returned from the park, Sofu went into the sitting room and found his son on the couch. There was no sign of Stephen, but the younger Kami was leaning back against the cushions with a dreamy expression on his face. The purple eyes didn’t register him at first, and Sofu studied his son’s face intently. His mouth spread in a wide smile, and satisfaction rose in the golden gaze. “Hello, my son,” he said after a moment, and Lord D came out of the haze he was in. He blinked up at his sire. 

“Hello, Father,” he said.

“Where is Stephen?” the older Kami asked.

“Gone to work. He said he’d be back tomorrow.” Lord D replied, running a hand through his hair. Sofu noticed that it was disordered, as though someone had been running his fingers through it. 

“I see. Did you two have a good time?” Sofu’s voice was gently teasing.

Lord D turned slightly red. “Yes,” he muttered, rising to his feet. “I think that I will go and take a bath, Father,” he remarked.

Sofu stepped back so that he could pass. “A good idea,” he murmured, his golden eyes dancing. He watched his son walk toward the hallway leading to his bedroom. The elder Kami had the sudden urge to dance and sing in utter joy. He was grinning as he made his way to him and Daniel’s room, walking in to see his mate stripping off his shirt. There were grass stains on the fabric, as he’d played a game of touch football with Leon and the boys. Sofu stopped for a moment appreciate the luscious view, practically purring as his eyes ran over the stocky, well-muscled chest revealed to his gaze. So nice! And all his. 

The Kami went soft-footedly across the room and slid his arms around his mate, resting his head against the SWAT Commander’s back. “Daniel,” he said throatily. 

The other man turned in his arms, looking down at him with a smile in the amber eyes. 

“Hey, sweet Sof. You’re in a good mood,” he noted. “More so than usual,” he said, chucking his mate under his pointed chin gently. “Is there a reason for that?”

The older Kami nodded. “Oh, yes, Daniel. I just saw my son in the sitting room, and it was clear to me that he and Stephen…” he trailed off delicately as the human’s eyebrows lifted slightly.

“Oh? You think they went all the way?” Daniel asked curiously.

Sofu shook his head. “No. I doubt that my son is ready for that. But Stephen, being the wise creature that he is, would have known just how far to go without crossing the line.” His golden eyes twinkled. “And it’s obvious that my son enjoyed whatever they did thoroughly.” He hugged his mate tightly, his joy echoing through the human. “This is wonderful,” he said. “I suspect that he hasn’t felt desire since his captivity.”

Daniel whistled. “That’s a long time not to be horny, especially for a guy,” he said.

“Exactly. Which is why I’m so pleased for him,” Sofu sighed as he rested his cheek against his mate’s chest. 

He felt a kiss on the top of his head. “Me, too,” Daniel replied. “That Stephen’s a good kid.”

“He is incredible. I never would have imagined that a HUMAN would be my son’s salvation,” Sofu mused as he ran a hand over Daniel’s broad chest idly.

“Yeah,” Daniel said huskily, distracted from the conversation by those moving fingers. “Sof,” he gasped. “I’m kinda having trouble paying attention here. Could you not do that if you want to talk to me?” he reached down to capture the fingers, lifting his mate’s hand to his mouth.

The Kami glanced up at him, desire glowing in the depths of the golden eyes. “Well, I don’t have anything else important to say,” Sofu replied, his eyelids half-falling over his eyes. “Do you, Daniel?” he asked teasingly.

“Hell, no,” the human growled, just before he bent his head a bit and captured Sofu’s lips in a deep, searing kiss.

 

 

Leon ordered his brother off to his room to take a bath before dinner. Chris went with T-chan in tow, for the goat boy liked to splash just a much as the human child did. They’d end up in a water fight that dowsed the bathroom, but fortunately the room was tiled, and so was resistant to small boys’ splashing sessions. The blonde wandered back into his own bedroom afterward, seeing D changing into a clean cheongsam. The detective paused in the doorway, his blue eyes beginning to gleam in a way that didn’t bode well for the young Kami. He strolled across the room, and closed his arms around D before he could pull on the cheongsam he held in his hands. He buried his face in the top of his mate’s glossy head. 

“Hey, honey, you don’t need to put that on just yet,” he remarked huskily. His fingers ghosted over D’s pale chest, reaching a set of tiny pink nipples, and he ran his thumbs over the tips caressingly.

The Kami gasped, moaning softly: “Leon,” as his muscles went limp. He ended up leaning back against his mate’s broad chest, and Leon chuckled as he nuzzled a small ear tenderly.

“What?” he asked, not expecting an answer. 

D turned in his arms, lifting his own to loop them over the detective’s neck. He lifted up a bit to kiss his mate, not needing to answer out loud. Leon pulled him even closer, devouring the sweet mouth that he adored. He felt a tongue insinuate itself slyly between his lips, and Leon loved the fact that the Kami was now taking the lead in their lovemaking a bit more. He groaned against D’s lips, as that slender lovely body rubbed up against his. His hands slipped down to grasp a tight little ass through the silk of the narrow pants, and D gasped into his mouth as he kneaded and cupped the cheeks. 

It didn’t take much for him to slide the pants down narrow hips, loving the fact that the Kami didn’t wear underthings. Leon let them fall to the floor, his hands now gliding over skin that felt softer than the silk of the pants had been. D broke the kiss, shuddering a little, his breath panting out of his chest. The blonde laughed a bit, as his mate grabbed the edge of his t-shirt and began to peel it off of him bodily. He lifted his arms to help, and the Kami made a satisfied sound as he finally managed to get the shirt off and toss it away. Usually he was neater than that, but when Leon had gotten him all worked up like this he simply didn’t care. The detective liked that, as he liked so many things about his gorgeous supernatural mate. Then D’s long fingers grabbed the fastenings of the tan shorts he was wearing, and made swift work of those, as well. He yanked them down and the blonde stepped out of them. But before he could do anything else, the Kami knelt down swiftly and set his hands at Leon’s hips. Then he leaned his head forward, and the human groaned as a warm mouth closed over the head of his cock. He gripped at glossy locks, as D began to demonstrate the skill he’d acquired since he and the detective had mated. 

Leon tried hard not to thrust himself too far into his mate’s mouth, because it was small, and he was not. He’d ended up choking the Kami more than once when he got too excited to control himself. He let his fingers sift through D’s hair lovingly, as the beautiful creature used his tongue to trace a pleasurable pattern all over the head and the first past of the shaft of Leon’s cock. One slim hand grasped the root, and parti-colored eyes lifted to watch the detective’s face twist in pleasure. The Kami could feel just how much Leon was enjoying this, and that excited him almost unbearably. He moved his head back and forth faster, taking in as much of the hot, hard length as he could, and sucking hard each time he pulled back. His nails cut into Leon’s thighs a bit, adding an edge of pain to the pleasure that made the human shudder slightly. 

“Dddd,” Leon moaned, his head going back a little. He wasn’t going to be able to take too much more of this wonderful sensation. The Kami began to hum softly in the back of his throat, a deliberate action to drive his mate over the edge. Leon succumbed with a shout of pleasure, shooting into the sweet mouth, as D swallowed greedily. 

Hands grasped his head, as the human panted desperately in the wake of his orgasm. D smiled as he removed his mouth with a last long lick at the tip of his mate’s cock, for he’d enjoyed that just as much as Leon had. Literally, since he could feel exactly what the detective felt through their bond. Strong arms pulled him to his feet. Looking up into those blue, blue eyes, D licked at his lips lazily like a cat. “You’re a bad boy, D,” Leon growled softly. “And now I think its time for me to punish my bad boy. What do you think?”

The Kami was all for this idea. He gave his mate his best ‘come hither’ look, and Leon swept the gorgeous naked being off of his feet, and carried him off to their bed to deal out his ‘punishment’. 

 

 

Sofu moaned desperately as Daniel laved his tongue over the surface of the Kami’s belly. The skin over the small mound was sensitive now, and he loved it when his mate lavished attention on it. He buried his fingers in the bristly short hair atop the human’s head, as Daniel stuck his tongue into the charming innie belly button and then moved further down in a wet trail. “Hey, Junior,” Daniel said against the mound, running his hand over it as well. “Daddy sure loves your ‘Mommy’.” He husked. “And he’d gonna love you too, when you come out of there.” He stroked the bump that was their child tenderly. 

Sofu was smiling as he watched his mate talk to their unborn child. Daniel kissed and petted his stomach for a bit longer, murmuring things to the baby. But then he moved even lower, and the Kami gasped as Daniel began to lavish attention on another part of him altogether. His back arched off the bed, and he bit at his lip a little. “Daniel,” he gasped.

“Sweet Sof,” replied the human, just before he ran his tongue in a long lave over the tip of the twitching cock between his mate’s thighs. 

The Kami loved what his mate was doing to him, but he also wanted more. His body was afire and he wanted nothing more than to feel Daniel moving within his body. So he pushed Daniel’s head away, making the human give him a puzzled look. Instead of saying anything Sofu sat up and put a hand in the middle of his mate’s chest. He pushed Daniel back onto the bed, showing the strength that seemed to incongruous in such a tiny creature. He moved to straddle Daniel’s hips, smiling in a sultry manner down at his enthralled mate. “I want to feel you within me, Daniel,” he murmured as he bent over. He heard a soft groan at his words and his golden eyes gleamed as he bent over to retrieve the tube of lubrication that sat on the bedside table. Daniel had talked him into using it instead of the oil he’d always traditionally used and he found it to be quite satisfactory. He opened the top while Daniel watched him with burning amber eyes and squirted some onto his palm. Rubbing his fingers in it, the Kami reached behind himself to thrust a slickened finger into his body. 

He moaned, his head going back a little as he moved his hips. Daniel thought him the most exquisite creature he’d ever seen, with his cherry red lips hanging open and his face flushing as he rode his own finger. His body was still slender and lithe in spite of the tiny mound of his belly. Now another finger wormed its way into Sofu’s body and the Kami twisted them slightly. His heavy-lidded golden eyes gazed down at his mate and Daniel wondered if his brain was going to explode. His mate was like a houri, a seductive, deadly being who had stolen his very soul. Not that he was complaining at all. Sofu could gladly have it, and everything else he possessed, as well. 

Sofu finished his preparations at last, pulling his fingers out of his body. He moved backward, never looking away from Daniel’s amber gaze and reached a hand back to grasp his mate’s cock. He used the lube on his fingers to slicken the hard length, his breathing panting in his chest. Lust coiled in his belly and he eagerly jinked his hips as he put the tip of his mate’s erection at the opening to his body. He sat back in one hard movement, driving Daniel’s cock into him in one fell swoop. A cry was torn from his chest and Daniel groaned deeply at the feel of being enclosed in that tight, hot space so suddenly. He grabbed a hold of Sofu’s hips and the Kami was practically purring as he set his hands on his mate’s broad chest. 

“Shall I move now, Daniel?” Sofu asked after a moment of savoring being filled.

“Oh, yeah.” Daniel rasped. 

“Very well, then,” the Kami swayed over his mate, and Daniel’s strong hands helped to regulate the tempo. They both gasped and moaned at the feeling of taking and being taken of penetration, and being the one who penetrated. Pleasure rose up in both of them and the human drove up his hips to push even more of himself into his lovely mate. Together they found a rhythm, and Sofu’s nails dug into Daniel’s chest then dragged down the skin, leaving red marks in their wake. Daniel husked out a groan at this scratching, as he’d come to like it when Sofu did his to him. 

The Kami lifted and lowered himself faster and faster, his back arching. His golden eyes were glassy as he began to rise up toward his orgasm. He felt a hand close tightly over his erection, and he cried out deliriously as Daniel stroked him. “Come, sweet Sof,” the human said and he couldn’t help but do what his mate told him to. 

“Ahh, Daniel!” Sofu wailed as he spurted out over the hand caressing him.

His convulsing internal muscles dragged Daniel’s own orgasm from him. He shot into that tight space, grateful that they didn’t have to use condoms anymore. He loved coming within Sofu’s body. The Kami wilted over him in the aftermath and Daniel stroked his hips tenderly. They shared a peaceful moment together in the wake of their passion and the Kami thought muzzily to himself that soon his son would be experiencing this wondrous thing for himself again with Stephen. This thought made him smile wearily, for not even in his wildest dreams would he have imagined that his battered, emotionally scarred son would find happiness with a human being. But then up until seven months or so ago he wouldn’t have believed it of himself either. Looking down into the amber gaze of his precious mate, the Kami thanked all the Gods who were listening for changing both of their minds.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leon and Daniel are taking their mates and the children to an amusement park. Hmm, what might happen in the next chapter between Stephen and Lord D, once they're alone in the pet shop together again? Comment if you want to find out! :P

Lord D wandered out into the shop the next morning, still feeling quite blissful. What had happened yesterday with Stephen…it had been so very long since he’d experienced anything like that, that his body had almost forgotten what it felt like. Now it was humming contentedly, telling him how very happy it was. Thinking about the young human who’d brought him such pleasure made his brain join in on this little party, and he was feeling so good that nothing short of an earthquake could have shaken him out of his mood. 

He went into the kitchen to put on a pot of tea, and as he set the water on to boil he heard his father’s voice behind him. “Good morning, my son,” Sofu remarked quietly.

The younger Kami paused and looked over his shoulder. “Good morning, Father,” he replied.

Golden eyes studied his son’s face, and Sofu smiled internally at what he saw. This was the first time that Lord D had said those words to him, and sounded like he meant them, in centuries. The purple eyes were bright, and the glow remained on the porcelain skin. He was gloriously beautiful like this, and the older Kami rejoiced silently at the return of his precious son. Once Lord D had been a sweet, gentle, loving creature without a malicious bone in his body. He’d loved life, and the many creatures that thrived on this planet, both. Even humans had not disturbed him – if they had, he never would have fallen in love with one at the court of the Emperor. It had been an agony for Sofu to watch his son slowly change – becoming bitter, angry, withdrawn, and moody. And that had been before his captivity at the hands of that vile human. Afterward, the being who’d emerged out of that chamber of horrors had been one that Sofu didn’t even recognize. He’d mourned then for the death of his son, as the Lord D he had known for so long was gone. To see that person emerging now, from behind the thick walls that he’d thrown up to protect himself, was like watching the sun rise. An awe-inspiring sight - and one that nearly made him hold his breath in wonder and amazement. 

Lord D, unaware of his parent’s thoughts, turned back to attend to the tea pot. “What kind of tea would you like, Father?” he asked without turning around again.

“Hmm. Pekoe, perhaps? We have that blend that just arrived from China a few weeks ago.”

“All right. How is my brother this morning?” Lord D asked of the Kami, who was now leaning slightly against the doorframe.

Sofu smiled, as he laid a hand over the slight mound of his abdomen. “He is very well today. Would you like to See him?”

The purple-eyed Kami abandoned the teapot for the moment at this invitation, turning around to walk over to his father. He reached out to lay his hand on the mound beside Sofu’s. Letting his magic flow out of his body, he sent it spiraling into his parent’s womb, so that he could See his tiny sibling nestled there. “So tiny,” he breathed. 

“Yes, but growing nicely,” Sofu agreed aloud. “Healthy and vigorous. He’ll start moving any day now, and something tells me that a child of Daniel‘s will be a kicker. I’d better be prepared for sleepless nights,” he sounded gently amused rather than unhappy about this prospect, and Lord D opened his eyes to look into his father’s. 

“I wish,” he breathed sadly, an old grief in his voice, “That I could have bonded with my son like this when he was inside of me. But I didn’t care what happened to either him or myself at that point. He was nothing but a painful reminder to me, not a new life for me to love and cherish.” Tears glimmered in his purple eyes, as Sofu reached out to cup his cheek tenderly.

“My son,” he said, a hint of sadness in his own voice, “You were robbed of many things by that experience, but the most precious was the bond you should have had with your child. It wasn’t quite the same with your eldest son – his mother carried him to term, he didn’t grow within you. You should have had the joy that comes with knowing that you carry new life inside of your body. But, instead, you hated the baby forming within you, and truly I can’t blame you for that. It is understandable, and I fear I would have reacted the same way had something like that happened to me. But you have become friends with him now, and the bond that was missing is slowly growing between you. And that is all to the good,” his thumb stroked along a porcelain cheek, and Lord D smiled, a little tremulously, at his words.

“You’re right, of course,” he replied. “It’s no good bemoaning things I cannot change. I can only live in the now, and be happy about the fact that I can look at my son without hate, or seeing his wretched father in him every time that I do so. Moreover, I shall be pleased from now on to think that I defied that creature, and brought a precious new Kami life into this world, despite what had been done to me. As Stephen says, I cannot let him win over me twice.”

Sofu smiled at this emphatic statement. “Your Stephen is a wise being for one so young,” he remarked as he dropped his hand away from his son’s cheek. 

Lord D’s face turned slightly pink when his father referred to the human as ‘your Stephen’. But he didn’t refute this statement, merely turned back to the stove to finish making the tea. Sofu watched him in silence for a moment, then spoke again: “My son?”

“Yes?” Lord D asked, although clearly his mind was more on what he was doing than what his parent was saying to him. 

Sofu hesitated, then began again. “This is a personal question, but one I feel I have to ask. I know that you and Stephen have not yet been fully intimate…” 

Lord D stiffened at his words, and the look he turned on his father made Sofu fight back a laugh. Clearly he was appalled to be having a conversation about this particular subject with his father. “But if you intend to be in the future,” Sofu went on determinedly, “And you choose to be the receiver in your relationship, it would be wise to remind the young human to use condoms.”

Lord D blinked, looking perplexed. “Condoms?” he repeated in bafflement.

Sofu nodded. “They are a birth control device that humans use when they don’t want their female to get pregnant. Leon uses them when he’s with your son, and Daniel and I were also using them until there was an ‘accident’…” his lips quirked wryly as Lord D shot him a questioning look. “Apparently, very occasionally, they can break or rip. But that does not happen very often. Daniel and I were just unlucky - if you can call it that,” he shook his head, “Neither of us is doing so, for as Daniel likes to point out we’re not getting any younger. But you…” he fastened his golden eyes on his son’s face, as his own went serious, “Are very fertile for one of our kind. That you got pregnant from being assaulted, even when it happened multiple times…” pain was in his voice as he said this, “That should not have happened. That it did, tells me that you can get pregnant more easily than normal, so if you and Stephen do have intercourse together and you choose to be the…errr…‘bottom’, I believe Daniel said the correct word is – then he should most definitely use birth control of some kind. Unless you wish to have another child…” he trailed off as he looked at his son.

Lord D shook his glossy head slowly. “No, not now,” he remarked. “I’ve barely begun to heal, I’m not ready to have a child right now. But perhaps later…” a thoughtful look ran over his face. “If it were possible…I would very much like to have Stephen’s child,” he said, and it was clear from the expression on his face that he was already imagining that future baby.

Sofu chuckled. “Perhaps you should discuss that with him later on, then,” he said. “Or do you know how he feels about children?” he asked curiously.

Lord D made a negative gesture with one slim hand. “No, we have never discussed such things yet. We haven’t even really talked about,” he blushed a bit again, “Being together. Even thought he…” he turned scarlet as he realized what he’d been about to say, and Sofu laughed softly at his chagrin. 

“I had guessed that something happened between you yesterday,” he assured his son, “For you were positively glowing when we returned from the park. And I am very glad,” he added firmly, “For it has been far too long since I’ve seen you look like that. I couldn’t be more pleased that you’ve found someone who moves you, for I’d thought to never see that person again…”

Lord D sighed, although a small smile flitted over his face as well. “Neither did I, Father,” he said to his parent as he turned away to take the whistling tea kettle off of the burner. “And I must say, that I am quite pleased by his return, as well.”

 

 

Their conversation was interrupted by the advent of Daniel, who came strolling down the hallway from he and Sofu’s room wearing a comfortable-looking dark-green t-shirt and a pair of jeans. It was his second day off today, and he greeted his mate as Sofu turned to smile at him. “Morning, sweet Sof,” the human said as he took the Kami in his arms, and kissed those red lips tenderly.

“Good morning, Daniel,” the Kami replied when he finally could. 

“Good morning, Daniel,” Lord D said from the stove. The SWAT Commander blinked a little, for the younger Kami sounded like he really meant this greeting. It was still taking him some time to get used to this ‘new’ Lord D, so different from the ‘old’ one. 

“Good morning, Lord D,” he replied. 

Would you like some tea?” Lord D asked him.

“Not before breakfast, thank you. Gotta whip me up an omelet,” Daniel added making both Kamis grimace a little. While eggs weren’t technically eating meat, they walked a very thin line with beings who were strict vegetarians. Daniel grinned at their expressions. “Better make one for Leon, too,” he remarked as he headed for the refrigerator. “You could warm up this coffee cake for you guys, though,” he added to Lord D over his shoulder.

The Kami nodded, walking over to retrieve the package that Daniel handed him. The coffee cake was a scrumptious confection, loaded with frosting, raspberry jam, and brown sugar. Daniel had picked it up at a high-class bakery a few days ago, as he was constantly on the look out for new sweets to tempt his pregnant mate(and his mate’s family, as well) with. He and Leon vied to see who could tote home the best sweets and confections, much to the Kamis’ amusement and appreciation. They still bought the other foods that they ate in the markets here in Chinatown, but seldom had to venture forth in search of anything with sugar in it. 

D appeared from the direction of his and Leon’s bedroom just then, and greeted all of his family members as he approached them. The youngest Kami looked rather tousled this morning, and Sofu’s golden eyes twinkled when he saw his grandson. Clearly he and the human detective had indulged in some early morning ‘recreation’ before they got up. D came into the kitchen, and saw his father busily making the Kami version of breakfast for them. “I’ll help you, Father,” he said, coming over to the stove.

Lord D smiled at him. “That’s all right, my son. I have it well in hand. Where is your mate?” he asked.

The youngest Kami sighed. “Still not quite ready to get up. He says that on his days off he gets to sleep in, that’s a hard and fast rule. I told him that he’s just lazy, and he said ‘that’s right’ and rolled over to go back to sleep. Honestly,” he said, although his tone of voice was more fond than indignant.

Lord D laughed a bit. “Perhaps he had reason to be tired?” he remarked slyly, looking at his son’s face and somewhat rumpled hair. The young Kami turned a very light shade of pink at his teasing.

“Perhaps,” he murmured in agreement, which made Daniel snicker as he came over to the stove bearing a pan and the ingredients for he, Leon, and Chris’s breakfasts.

Daniel shooed the Kamis out of the kitchen, so that he could cook the verboten food stuffs in peace. They took a tray with them into the sitting room to enjoy their tea and coffee cake. They talked about the animals as they did so, and would go back into the pet shop itself as soon as they were done eating, to see to their needs. Leon wandered in after a while, with his blonde hair sticking up in places, and his shirt misbuttoned. D gave him an exasperated look, which made the human grin in return as he rubbed at his eyes a bit. “Hey, D honey,” he said to his mate, as the Kami got up to come over and begin to put his shirt to rights. “We had such a good time at the park yesterday, I was thinking we might all go and do something else today. If Lord D would watch the shop for us again?” 

He looked hopefully at the Kami as he said this, and Lord D replied calmly: “I would be glad to do so, Leon.”

Sofu turned his smiling face away as his son said this, so that Lord D could not see his expression. The pleasure in his tone of voice as he agreed with Leon’s request was enough to tickle his funny bone, as well as make him want to cheer. 'Yes, Leon,' he thought at the blonde detective, 'Let us all leave for the day, and let my son be alone once more with Stephen Caldwell. Who knows what will happen today? Whatever does, it will all be for the good.'

“Great,” Leon was saying happily. “I thought about a ball game, but I’m afraid you guys would be ultra-bored with human sports. So how about an amusement park? Any of you ever been to one of those?”

As one D, Lord D, and Sofu shook their heads. “What is an amusement park. Leon?” D asked his mate curiously.

“You’ll see,” Leon replied with a wink. “And Chris’ll be ecstatic if we take him to one, believe me.”

“Hmm. Well, whatever you think best, Leon,” Sofu remarked. “I’m sure that we’ll enjoy ourselves.”

“Yeah. But don’t you go riding any of the roller coasters or whatnot, not in your condition, Granddad,” the blonde human replied firmly, pointing a finger at Sofu. 

The elder Kami cocked his head to the side like a curious bird. “Roller coasters? What an interesting name.” there was an expression on his face that said that Leon had piqued his interest, which made the blonde want to groan and cover his eyes. Well, he’d leave it up to Daniel to try to talk his pregnant mate out of boarding a roller coaster, just to see what it was like. For now, he left the sitting room to go to the kitchen and snag some breakfast. He’d need all the fuel he could get to keep up with an energetic eight year old – or two curious Kamis, for that matter.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lord D and Stephen finally make love - in a way that Lord D doesn't expect.

Lord D was moving around the shop when Stephen strode in. The tall human greeted the lovely Kami with a cheerful verve as Lord D’s purple eyes lit up from within at the sight of him. “Hello, Stephen,” he replied to the blue-haired human. “Hello, Buddy,” he added as the raven perched on Stephen’s shoulder gave a guttural croak and flapped his wings a bit.

Stephen reached up to run a finger down the bird’s breast bone. “He likes to see you as much as I do,” he sad, his teal blue eyes twinkling. “Which is saying a lot. Because I reaaalllyy like to see you.”

The Kami smiled slightly. “Will you come into the sitting room?” he said. 

“Of course. Where is everybody else?” the tall human asked as he started toward the bead-hung doorway that led into the sitting room. 

“Leon and Daniel took my father, my son, young Christopher and T-chan to something called an ‘amusement park’. I do not know what that is,” he added.

Stephen laughed as he folded his long frame onto one of the couches. “Trust me, they’ll have fun. I’d give a thousand bucks to see your dad’s or D’s faces when they get a look at an amusement park. I bet they’ve never been to one either right?”

“No. Leon warned my father that he would not be allowed to ride something called a…err…roller coaster? Because of his pregnancy.”

The human chuckled. "Yeah, but something tells me that your dad would love one of those things. And that he does whatever he wants to right? In spite of what anybody else might say,” his voice was shrewd, and Lord D laughed as well as he reached out to pour a cup of tea for Stephen. 

“You know my father well. If he decides that he wishes to ride this ‘roller coaster’, whatever it is, he will do so. Not even his mate will be able to make him change his mind.” 

“Heh. So does this mean that we’re alone again today?” Stephen asked casually as he reached out to take the cup of tea, which was suddenly shivering a little because Lord D’s hands were shaking at these words. 

His breathing had picked up as well and he gasped rather faintly: “Yes, we are alone again.”

“Great,” Stephen’s voice had gone low and rather purring and his teal blue eyes were darkening. The Kami took in a sharp breath and closed his eyes as he struggled against a body suddenly gone far too warm and rather jelly-like.

“Stephen,” he managed to say hoarsely.

“Yes?” that voice seemed to be caressing his skin. He shuddered a bit, almost unable to speak coherently. 

“M-My Father talked to me this morning about…Us,” he began as his fingers closed over the high-standing collar of his cheongsam rather tightly. 

“Us? What do you mean?” genuine curiosity was in the human’s voice, which had lost most of its sultry tone. 

“About us being…together. Intimately,” the Kami managed to say, although his porcelain skin was going rather red. 

“Oh,” there was a wealth of understanding in Stephen’s voice. “What did he talk to you about? Aren’t you a bit old for that speech?”

Purple eyes opened and stared across the table at him. “Which speech?” Lord D asked in puzzlement.

Stephen shook his blue head. “Never mind. Umm…so what did he want to talk to you about where we’re concerned?”

“He said that…if I chose to be what he calls the ‘bottom’ in our relationship, that you should always use something called…err…condoms.”

Stephen’s brows rose. “Rubbers? Why?” he asked.

“Because, as you are aware, it is perfectly possible for we Kami males to have children. And as he pointed out to me, I tend to be very fertile where one of our kind is concerned. I haven’t told you this yet…” he trailed off, pain on his face, before he went on manfully, “My son, the one you’ve met…”

“D,” Stephen prompted him. 

“Yes. As I said, I gave birth to him myself. But what you are not aware of is the fact that he is the product of that incident which I told you of.”

Stephen’s eyes widened, and he looked rather sick. “You mean that you got knocked up from being raped?” he said queasily.

Lord D nodded, his fingers twining together in his lap tightly. “M-My son…I was unable to even look at him after he was born. For a very long time I stayed away entirely, because I could not stand to see him. While our relationship is growing closer, that is not why I told you this. My father was pointing out to me that if I could get pregnant from being assaulted, then there is a good chance that I could do the same with you. Especially since the chances of conception become much higher if I enjoy it…” he turned rather pink again as he said these words, and Stephen’s lips twitched. 

“I see,” he remarked. “Okay, whenever we do that I’ll make sure to wear a rubber. But the thing is…” he went serious once more as he leaned forward a bit, “I’ve been thinking. I know that us getting together will be hard for you, because you’re probably going to be thinking about what happened to you. You won’t be able to help yourself, because you’ll be scared even though you trust me. So what I want to say is this – for the first time, maybe longer, I’ll be the one on the bottom.”

He said this matter-of-factly, while Lord D gaped at him. “But you…” he protested helplessly, “Are you sure about this, Stephen?” he searched the tall human’s face, but it was serene.

Stephen smiled reassuringly at him. “Sure, babe. Maybe when you were younger guys had more rigid roles in the bedroom, but nowadays most of us are both top and bottom when we want to be. I’ve been one before, so it’s not a problem for me. I know I like it just as much as being on top. And this way you won’t be so anxious or scared about getting together with someone after such a long time. So, what do you say?”

Lord D was speechless for a moment, his heart melting inside of his breast. This simple kindness and caring finished off his battered shields altogether and they came down with a resounding crash. Stephen had conquered him with kindness, and the young human had stolen his heart almost effortlessly. His lips were trembling as he replied: “I-I say that you are the most wonderful thing that had ever happened to me, St-Stephen. I,” it was too much, and he put his hands over his eyes as he wept. After a moment a pair of strong arms closed over him, and held him gently.

“Hey, babe, don’t cry,” the human begged softly against his hair. A hand stroked it as well, and Lord D turned so that he could bury his face against the front of Stephen’s shirt. The human seemed to understand that the tears were more of a release than anything else, so he didn’t beg the Kami to stop again. He simply held Lord D in silence, rocking him a little, until the beautiful creature was spent. 

When he finally lifted his face away from the human’s chest, Lord D met those kind blue eyes as he wiped at his own. “Forgive me, Stephen,” he husked.

A shake of the blue head. “There’s nothing to forgive. You needed that, I could see it,” Stephen smiled as he lifted a hand to run a thumb under one of those purple eyes, gathering the moisture there. “You feeling better now?” he asked.

Lord D nodded. Despite a slight headache, he actually felt wonderful. His eyes glowed from within, and the sight of them was too much for the young human. He groaned as he bent his head, and the Kami gasped as Stephen’s mouth closed over his in a tender, devastating kiss. He wound his slim arms around the human’s neck as he returned the kiss fervently, and large hands pulled him up against Stephen’s chest. They both moaned, everything else forgotten, as their mouths mated and merged for what seemed like an eternity. When they finally parted Stephen looked down into that lovely porcelain face and groaned to see the flush rising on it. “Babe, we gotta stop now. I’m gonna lose my mind,” he rasped. 

Lord D blinked up at him as his mind returned to reality. He realized what Stephen was saying, and a small smile flittered over his kiss swollen lips. “Then by all means let us lose our minds together, Stephen,” he said in such a sultry tone of voice that the young human visibly shuddered. 

“Are you sure?” he asked painfully. The Kami nodded. 

“What about the shop? Aren’t you watching it?”

“Yes, but even we have a ‘closed, come back later’ sign,” Lord D replied, his lids lowering over his purple eyes a bit.

“Okaayy. That works for me,” Stephen said. He jumped to his feet, holding out a hand to Lord D. The Kami took it, feeling warmth surge up his arm. He gasped at the sensation, and could only close his hand over Stephen’s and lead the young human out into the shop silently. His voice wasn’t working properly at the moment. He went to put the sign up, which was in both English and Chinese, and the young human waited patiently while he did so. Then he turned and walked toward his room, feeling sweat breaking out on his brow a little. This was such an irrevocable thing - he was coming back into the world completely, and, moreover, he was indulging in something that he had not wanted to do since his captivity. But doing this with Stephen just seemed right to him. It couldn’t help but be perfect with this human who had drawn him back to his old self with a sure and gentle hand. 

He opened the door of his bedroom and walked inside, Stephen at his heels. He heard a whistle when the human saw the size of the bed. Buddy squawked on his shoulder and flew up to perch on one of the posts, looking like he belonged there. Stephen laughed to see him up there. “Like that, do you?” he said to the bird. “It’s just as well – you can’t be on my shoulder right now anyway. So stay up there, fella, and I’ll give you a treat later.”

The raven cawed and ruffled his feathers, as Stephen turned to look at Lord D. “Hey,” he said, seeing the Kami standing very still nearby. “You okay? We don’t have to do this,” he said again.

“I’m fine,” Lord D croaked. “Just a bit nervous. Well, maybe more than a bit,” he conceded as Stephen walked toward him.

The human put out his hands to close them over the Kami’s upper arms. He stroked up and down reassuringly as he smiled at the slim creature. “Its all right for you to be nervous. We’ll take this slow and easy,” Stephen said. He coaxed the lovely being over to the bed and got him to sit down on the side of it. Then he reached out for the frogs that held the front of lord D’s cheongsam together and the Kami nearly held his breath as the human proved that he was very nimble fingered. The first one opened and then the second…he was nearly panting as those long fingers moved slowly and inevitably down the front of the red-and-gold patterned cheongsam he was wearing.

Stephen’s eyes never looked away from his as the human finished the last one and began to push the garment off of the Kami’s shoulders. It pooled around his slender waist as the human went to work on the undergarment instead. He looked as though he were holding his own breath as he undid the tiny buttons. Lord D gasped faintly as this gauzy garment was stripped from him and Stephen made a low sound when he saw the pale perfection of the Kami’s upper body. “Wow, babe, you are gorgeous,” he murmured admiringly. 

Lord D shivered at his words and the sincere admiration in the blue eyes. “Stand up,” Stephen said, and he did as commanded although his legs felt like they were going to give way under him. 

Stephen knelt down in front of him, bringing his face to a level with the much shorter Kami’s belly button. He leaned forward and kissed this charming thing, then the jumping muscles around it. Lord D moaned, his fingers gripping desperately at the top of a blue head, as Stephen licked tenderly at the shivering skin of his abdomen. He gasped the human’s name as fingers closed in the top of his narrow silk pants and began to coax them downward slowly but surely. 

Stephen kissed every bit of skin that appeared as he slid the pants down, and Lord D could only watch him and try to breathe. The human mouthed at a delicate hipbone, suckling at it until the Kami felt like his mind was melting. Stephen rolled his eyes up to look at the Kami’s flushed face. He watched it intently as he pulled the pants down even further and finally released the beautiful cock that he’d held in his hand yesterday. It twitched excitedly between Lord D’s thighs, a clean spike with no pubic hair surrounding it. The Kami moaned again, a wisp of a sound, as Stephen extended his tongue and licked at the pink tip peeping out from the foreskin. Lord D gasped, pushing his hips forward, as the tall human swirled his tongue lightly over the head, before he opened his mouth and took in part of the shaft.

Lord D cried out deliriously. He’d forgotten, oh yes, he’d forgotten…a warm mouth sucking at him, a hand stroking the lower part of the shaft, another hand gripping his hip so that he didn’t fall – so good! He bit at his lower lip, his back arching, as Stephen continued to pleasure him skillfully. That tongue was doing the most devastating things all along the length of him and he threw his head back as he panted wildly for breath. He couldn’t speak Stephen’s name anymore, he couldn’t say anything at all...He could only feel as every muscle in his body seemed to go rigid at the same time. The blue head drove down, taking him all in, and a wonderful, blissful suction was provided. It was too much. The Kami gasped in ecstasy as he came, and that tight orifice drew his semen from him in a rush.

Stephen grabbed his hips to hold him up as Lord D’s legs buckled. The Kami hung in his grip, panting wildly, the purple eyes far away. Stephen grinned as he gently backed Lord D up and sat him on the bed again and then he rose to his feet and began to remove his own clothing in a leisurely fashion. He pulled off his shirt and then took off his jeans. By the time those were removed Lord D had returned from the place he’d gone to when he orgasmed. His purple eyes looked up at the tall human, seeing him naked for the first time. Stephen’s chest was wide and the sandy-brown hair that flecked the tanned surface told him just what color the hair on the human’s head had originally been. His torso was leaner and full of rolling muscles. He worked outdoors a great deal, Lord D remembered; and did a lot of manual labor. It showed. But then his tracking eyes came to the human’s groin, and he stared at the proud cock rising from a nest of sandy-brown hair. It was long but only fairly thick, and, of course, it had no foreskin. He’d heard that American males were often circumcised. 

Glancing down at himself, Stephen smiled crookedly. He waited, giving the Kami time to look his fill. Lord D took in long legs lightly-kissed with hair and also very tanned. Only Stephen’s hips and upper thighs were paler, showing that he often wore shorts while working outside. Lord D too ka shuddering breath. “You are quite beautiful as well, Stephen,” he said hoarsely.

The human grinned. “If you say so,” he said, walking forward. He bent over and cradled the side of Lord D’s face as he kissed the Kami’s lips sweetly. 

Lord D let his hands slide over the bare skin of Stephen’s shoulders and upper back, liking the feel of it. So strong, he could feel the muscles moving under the skin. Stephen lifted his mouth from the Kami’s and said to him: “I’m gonna lay down and let you do anything you want, babe. Take your time. Remember that you’re gonna be the top,” he smiled sunnily. “So you gotta make it good for me, eh?” he chucked the Kami lightly under the chin before he draped his long form on the bed beside Lord D like an offering.

The Kami sat back on his heels, looking at the man lying on his bed. Tentatively he reached out to run his hand over the tanned skin of the broad chest, while Stephen watched him in anticipation. His fingertips sketched the muscles, reaching a flat male nipple. He watched Stephen’s face as he stroked his thumb over the left one - and he liked the fact that the human made a small sound and moved on the bed. He pinched at the nipple a bit, rolling it in his fingers, and a quiet moan was the response. Lord D leaned over, running his hands over the human’s entire chest and stomach, intent on learning and mapping each inch of skin. 

His hands slid perilously close to Stephen’s groin, and the human groaned and lifted his hips off the bed a bit. Lord D glanced at his face before reaching out to close one hand over the human’s erection. He breathed out slowly as his fingers felt the warmth and hardness of it. This wasn’t frightening at all. It was exciting, especially when Stephen moaned for him again. He stroked the length of the shaft experimentally, and the young human gasped in pleasure. His fingertips gathered the liquid leaking from the tip. His other hand moved down to run through the wiry but soft hair clustered around Stephen’s cock and balls. He was fascinated by it, and he might have continued for many minutes if the human hadn’t gasped: “Babe, please!”

Lord D abandoned the pubic hair to reach down and cradle the large, round balls hanging underneath the cock he was still stroking lightly. He felt their weight, cupping them tenderly. Stephen’s chest was heaving now, and Lord D bent his head to kiss his human’s chest. He laid a string of kisses over its surface, tasting the salty, slightly musky skin. He drank in the sounds he forced from Stephen’s mouth with his caresses and kisses and extended his tongue to lap at one flat male nipple like a cat. Then he nibbled at it delicately, eliciting a groan from the prostrate man on the bed. Stephen’s back arched and his fingers dug into the bedspread on either side of him. 

“I-I’m not sure how much more of this I can take,” he gasped, and the Kami looked up at him out of those gorgeous purple eyes. 

Stephen gently pushed him away for a moment, rolling off the bed to grab his jeans. Lord D stared at him as the human rummaged something out of his pocket. He held it up for the Kami to see. It was a small tube of something. “Lube,” Stephen husked as he returned to the bed. “I’ve been carrying it around just in case – although it was gonna stay in my pocket until you were ready for this,” he added as he handed it to Lord D. “You use it to…” he began.

“I know what it's for,” Lord D interrupted him quietly. His cheeks heated slightly. “My father explained it to me,” he said.

Stephen laughed as he slung an arm around the Kami’s bare shoulders. “Wow, that must have been kinda embarrassing,” he said.

A dip of the glossy head. Stephen planted a kiss on his cheek. “Well, if you know what to do with it…” he said, lying back down and spreading his legs invitingly. “Go ahead.”

Lord D opened the tube and squirted some of the slick stuff onto his fingers. He studied it for a moment and then moved down slowly in between Stephen’s legs. The teal-blue eyes watched him again as he reached out to run a slickened fingertip over the puckering ring of flesh in between the cheeks of the human’s ass. He let it drift and rub over the sensitive tissue and Stephen made a low sound of pleasure. Dim memories of his few times with male lovers returned to Lord D, and he slowly slid a fingertip into Stephen’s body. He was careful of his long nail as he pushed it in and the human murmured softly: “That’s the way, babe.”

Lord D began to move the finger in and out of Stephen’s body, twisting it a bit. The tall man lifted his hips a bit encouragingly, and the Kami became more confident. He stroked the finger in-and-out more quickly, and then added another finger as carefully as possible. He didn’t want to hurt Stephen if he could help it. From the sounds he was making, the human was enjoying what he was doing thoroughly. He stretched and widened the passage with his fingers until Stephen could take it no more. “Babe, come on,” he groaned. “I want you inside of me.”

Lord D moaned himself at these words, putting more of the lube on his fingers so that he could stroke it onto himself. Stephen growled appreciatively and wrapped his legs happily around the Kami’s slim waist as Lord D positioned himself between the human’s legs. When the Kami pushed the head of his erection cautiously against the puckered ring Stephen made an impatient sound and jinked his hips. Lord D gritted his teeth and thrust forward and the tip of his cock slid inside easily. He gasped, his head going back, his fingernails sinking into Stephen’s thighs a bit. It was so hot, and tight, and it felt so wonderful…he couldn’t resist pushing in a bit more, and the human made a sound of slight pain mixed with pleasure. He lost it completely, and was unable to stop himself. He drove forward, burying himself to the hilt in that tight, glove-like passage. 

Stephen made another sound of pain, this time louder. Lord D froze, horror skirling through him. He’d hurt Stephen! He began to breathe quickly, almost hyperventilating, as shame washed through him. A sob forced its way up his throat and the human said in concern: “Are you okay, babe? What’s wrong?”

His purple eyes flew open, looking down into a concerned face. Stephen didn’t look like he was in great pain, but still… “I…h-hurt you,” he gasped.

“Oh,” Stephen wriggled a little on the bed. “That wasn’t much. And it only hurts at first until you get used to it. Don’t worry about it, it's already gone.”

Lord D looked down at him uncertainly. “Are you sure?”

“Sure I’m sure. Come on,” the human tightened his internal muscles deliberately, making the Kami gasp. “Let’s get this show on the road, babe.”

Lord D stared down at him, and then tried a small thrust. He felt such a wash of relief go through him when Stephen only moaned in obvious pleasure that he shuddered with it. He began to move, slowly but surely, his body finding a rhythm that he’d all but forgotten. His mouth opened, his eyes going half-lidded. Stephen pushed up to meet him, his face twisted with his own pleasure, and it was so wondrous that he could not bear it. One of Stephen’s hands left the bedspread and reached down to close over himself. He stroked his own cock as Lord D began to move faster and harder. “Uhh, I’m gonna come,” the human groaned desperately. “Oh, yeah, that’s the way, babe.”

The Kami began to pant, his hips snapping as he drove in harder and harder. A loud cry sounded as he found the sweet spot within Stephen’s body. The human shuddered as he came, his semen splattering out over his own chest and stomach. The muscles clenched and closed over Lord D, and he choked out his own cry as he went into his final thrusts. He was going blind, losing all thought, everything…His orgasm took him, and the Kami screamed in pleasure as a bolt of lighting shot through his body. His whole body shook as he came and when it was finally over he slumped down in a limp, annihilated heap over Stephen’s long form. 

He panted desperately and after a moment felt a hand stroking through his hair. He opened his purple eyes to look down on the human, who was smiling at him. “All I’ve gotta say is…that was awesome,” Stephen husked. 

The Kami nodded a bit in total agreement. Big hands closed over him, drawing him down until he was cradled against Stephen’s warm, sweaty body. Then they stroked down his bare back, tenderly, soothingly, and Lord D closed his eyes as a feeling of immense peace washed through him. He fell asleep, exhausted by everything that had transpired, held close in Stephen’s strong arms.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something strange happens to Lord D and Sofu...here ya are, Adalie. Answers to your questions. :) -DL

Daniel tried to keep his voice reasonable and calm. ‘You can’t go on this ride, Sof,” he protested, waving a hand at the roller coaster. 

The Kami looked up at him out of those guileless golden eyes, an innocent look that masked centuries of both wisdom and experience – and cunning, as well. “But Daniel, I wish to go on this peculiar ride. I assure you that the baby will not be harmed by something so little, nor will I be.”

Daniel wanted to groan. He blamed this fully on Leon, who should have just kept his mouth shut. If he had, the elder Kami wouldn’t have even known what a roller coaster was, let alone have become determined to ride one. “Listen, sweetheart, I really wish you wouldn’t do this,” he said aloud, a hint of pleading in his voice.

Sofu shook his glossy head. “Everything will be fine, Daniel,” he repeated, touching his mate’s arm. “You’ll see. Now do you wish to go on this ride with me, or will you stay here?”

The human grimaced visibly, but replied in resignation: “I’ll go on it with you. But damn it, I am not happy about this, Sof.”

“Your objections are noted,” the Kami replied serenely. He turned to look at his grandchild and Leon, who were auditors to this conversation. The blonde looked like he wanted to start tearing his hair out, while D’s eyes were gleaming with suppressed laughter. “Do you wish to come with us, child?” he asked.

D shook his head. “That’s all right, Grandfather,” he said in a wavering voice. “Leon and I will watch the children.” He nodded at Chris and T-chan, who were both looking blissful, because they were on a sugar high from too much cotton candy. 

“Very well. Come, Daniel, the line is getting shorter,” Sofu swept off to join the end of the line for the ride, while Daniel gave Leon and D a despairing look before he followed after his mate.

D gave into his laugher when they were gone. “Poor Daniel,” he gasped. “Grandfather will always do exactly what he wishes to, so it’s just as well that most of the time he’s reasonable about things. Otherwise, Daniel would be run in circles by him.”

Leon sighed. “Me and my big mouth,” he muttered. “I really gotta start thinking before I say things.”

D smiled at him. “That would be wise,” the Kami agreed in amusement.

 

 

Sofu entered the shop with his arms full of stuffed animals that Daniel had won for him. The older Kami was in a good mood, for he’d found the amusement park to be a fun and very interesting place. He snickered under his breath as he remembered the expression on Daniel’s face when he’d insisted on riding that fascinating roller coaster, and the human had been grim throughout the entire ride. But the Kami himself had felt no ill effects, and had enjoyed the wild ride thoroughly. He thought that even the baby had rather enjoyed it, for to his delight as he’d exited the ride he’d felt their child kick for the very first time. He’d sent a probe down into his womb, and had made sure that the baby was all right, before he’d turned to his mate and given Daniel the good news that distracted him completely from his unhappiness over Sofu’s going on the ride. The look of awe on his mate’s face when he told Daniel that their child had kicked had delighted the older Kami, and he’d let Daniel See their baby so that he could know that it was completely healthy, since he didn’t want his mate to worry. 

The baby had not kicked again while his other parent was looking at him, but Daniel was just glad that he was unharmed from the ride, and had put an arm over Sofu’s shoulders possessively. The two had been in good charity with each other for the rest of the day, and now were feeling tired but happy as they entered the shop. It was late afternoon, and to Sofu’s surprise the ‘come back later’ sign was up. Where was his son? He paused for a moment, but his very good hearing didn’t bring him any sounds from the sitting room. He frowned a bit in concern, turning to look at Daniel. “I am going to see where my son is,” he told his mate.

Daniel nodded, looking around himself. “Okay. I’ll start dinner,” he said as Leon, D, Chris, and T-chan came through the door after them. 

Sofu went to check the back, but Lord D was not there attending to the animals, either. A spurt of worry went through Sofu, and he made for his son’s bedroom. He hoped that Lord D wasn’t sick. He knocked on the closed door, but there was no sound from within. He put his hand on the knob and turned it, finding the door unlocked. Sofu pushed it open and started to walk in, but froze when he saw the tableau in the bed. His son was stark naked, and curled up under the covers next to Stephen, who was also completely nude. Lord D’s glossy head rested on the tall human’s shoulder, and his breathing was even. Both of them were asleep, most likely worn out from what they’d been doing together.

Sofu’s lips lifted in a wide smile as he stared at the sight on the bed. Goodness, but this was excellent news! When he’d left his son alone in the shop again today he’d hoped, but…considering how damaged his son was he hadn’t totally expected it to work. He stepped back and quietly shut the door on the two of them, humming happily to himself as he walked away. He went to the kitchen, where his mate was starting to prepare dinner with D’s help. Leon had taken the boys off for a bath before they ate, although whether they’d have an appetite or not after all the sugar they’d scarfed today was a toss up.

D turned away from the stove and saw his grandfather standing in the doorway. “Grandfather? Did you find Father?” he asked in concern.

Sofu smiled at him. “Oh, yes,” he replied simply. 

The younger Kami studied his face. “Is he all right?” he asked with a touch of anxiety in his voice.

Sofu made a motion with one hand. “He is fine, child. He’s just resting. I imagine that he’s tired out,” he continued, and something in his voice made Daniel turn to look at him, as well. 

D’s brows knit in puzzlement. “Tired out? From what?” he questioned. 

Sofu chucked a bit. “Let us just say that Stephen and he found a good way to entertain themselves while we were gone,” he said impishly.

D stared at him, and after a moment understanding filled the parti-colored eyes. He turned faintly pink. “Oh. I see,” he said.

Sofu shook his head. “This is excellent news, child, and I for one am very happy about it,” he said firmly.

D pulled himself together. “Yes, I agree, Grandfather, it’s just…" he trailed off, looking rather embarrassed.

Sofu laughed outright. “You’re not put off by the fact that Daniel and I ‘entertain ourselves’ often, but you are when your father does the same?” he said in amusement.

His words made D see just how silly he was being. “You’re right, Grandfather,” he acknowledged. “And I’m happy for Father.”

“Should I set another place at dinner for Stephen?” Daniel asked phlegmatically from the refrigerator.

Sofu shrugged. “I don’t know as yet, we’ll ask him if he can stay when they get up. For now, we’ll leave them in peace.”

 

 

Lord D awoke slowly, blinking his eyes as consciousness returned. The first thing he saw when he opened them was Stephen’s face, and he felt a surge of wonder when he remembered what had happened. He reached out to lightly cup the human’s jaw with his hand, and the azure eyes promptly flew open. “Hey, babe,” Stephen said with a smile for the lovely Kami. “You sleep well?”

“Very well,” Lord D replied. 

“That’s good. I just watched you for awhile; you’re so pretty when you sleep,” the human remarked as he yawned a bit.

Lord D sighed, sitting up slowly. He ran a hand through his glossy hair, which was now disheveled. “We had best get up; I have no idea how long the shop has been closed,” he said to Stephen. The human nodded, sitting up himself. He scrubbed at his blue hair with his fingers, as Lord D started to move to the side of his bed where his clothes were lying. But he was brought up short by something, and he gasped a bit as his purple eyes stared across the room at the door.

“What’s the matter?” Stephen asked him in concern. 

 

Lord D groaned, covering his eyes with one hand. “My father has been in this room recently,” he remarked in horror.

“How do you know that?” Stephen sounded far more interested than embarrassed by this bit of news.

“I can feel his aura. Oh, Gods,” Lord D moaned.

A hand patted his bare shoulder. “Don’t sweat it, babe, your dad isn’t going to be shocked or anything.” 

The Kami dropped his hand as he turned to look over his shoulder at the human. Meeting those concerned blue eyes he said: “That’s what I’m afraid of. Shocked I could handle. But Father has a penchant for teasing people; he’ll enjoy himself at our expense thoroughly.”

Stephen chuckled. “Yeah, I could see that. But we’ll survive,” he said serenely. “So, do you want to give him more fodder to tease us about?” he asked with a randy gleam in his eyes.

Lord D forgot his chagrin at that look. “I suppose that would be fine,” he murmured, which made Stephen grin as he slid across the bed determinedly toward the lovely Kami. 

 

 

When they finally emerged from the bedroom together, Lord D hung back a little as they approached the kitchen. He could hear voices talking in there, and he just didn’t want to face his father. But Stephen turned toward him and reached out to pull him close. “It’ll be okay,” he said softly, running his hand through the long black hair, to help smooth it down a bit. 

Lord D took comfort from his gentle touch. “I know,” he replied wryly. He looked up into those true blue eyes, and felt much better and more confident. When he was with Stephen he always felt like he could do anything without fear. “Let’s go face him,” he said in resignation, as Stephen laughed softly and took the Kami’s hand. 

They made their way to the kitchen door, seeing Sofu, Daniel, and D all busy with dinner. Stephen cleared his throat. “Hey, everybody,” he said, his eyes twinkling.

Sofu turned to look at them. “Hello, Stephen; my son,” he said. “Did you have a good nap?” he added, his golden eyes alight with laughter.

Lord D sighed as he replied: “Yes, Father, we did,” he felt Stephen’s hand come to rest on his shoulder, as the human winked at Sofu. 

Sofu smothered a laugh as he spoke to Stephen. “Daniel wanted to know if you’d stay for dinner, Stephen,” he said to the tall human.

Lord D looked up at his new lover hopefully. Stephen considered the question and then grinned. “Sure, why not? I’m starving,” he added, which made Lord D turn rather red, as he suddenly found the floor fascinating.

 

 

Despite his father’s gentle teasing, Lord D found the next few weeks to be some of the most pleasant of his life. Stephen came every day to see him, and they often ended up retiring to his room while Sofu or D watched the shop. They also went for walks together, or Stephen drove them to the beach to spend a day in the sun. The Kami finally asked the young human if he would spend the night with him at the shop, and Stephen agreed readily. That night, for the first time in their burgeoning relationship, Lord D chose to be the bottom in their sexual encounter. He was very nervous, but Stephen was gentle and patient with him. He took his time over the Kami, extending the foreplay until Lord D was mindless and desperate. Then he rolled the beautiful creature on top of him, telling Lord D to ride him so that he wouldn’t feel imprisoned or held down. The Kami was grateful for this consideration, for a trace of anxiety still lingered under the desire he felt. 

Sitting astride Stephen, he took his time over the penetration. It only hurt a little, and fear didn’t overwhelm him as he’d thought it might. It felt so good - and this was Stephen, after all. He could look down into those honest blue eyes, and know that his lover would never hurt him. No horrible memories rose up to impede him, as he finally settled down atop Stephen at last. He relished the deep moan that rose up from the human’s chest as he set his hands on his lover’s skin. Then he began to lift his hips, slowly but surely, gasping in pleasure. Hands closed over them to help him move, and the two of them found a sweet rhythm together. Lord D’s head went back as he began to move more quickly, his face twisted with pleasure as he cried out in ecstasy. 

Stephen was grunting a little under him, shoving upward with his own hips now. Both Kami and human felt that they couldn’t last much longer, and their eyes met once again as they both rose up toward orgasm together. As he lifted up and drove down again, Lord D looked deep into those blue orbs and felt a wash of love so intense rise up in him that he could barely contain it. He loved Stephen Caldwell; had probably loved him almost from the moment that the tall human had walked into the shop that first day. This realization hit him hard, as did his climax. He came with a loud cry, and Stephen matched him as the human came at almost the same time. Their eyes remained locked – and then the strangest thing happened.

Lord D tensed, all of his muscles tightening and his back arching, as something flashed through him. Stephen made a low sound under him, as energy tendrils coiled out from the Kami’s body and sank into his. There was an audible snap, and Lord D abruptly collapsed atop the human in a limp mass. His body shivered slightly, his nerves atremble, as Stephen gasped under him: “What the hell just happened?!” But the Kami didn’t answer him, for he didn’t know himself. He was bewildered by this occurence, since it had never occurred before when he’d had sex with anyone else. Or when he’d been with Stephen previously, either. What HAD just happened? And why did he feel so strange? It was as though he’d been dipped in a pool of energy, as though his entire body were glowing right at the moment. 

Lord D pushed himself up slowly, disengaging his body from Stephen’s at last. “I-I will go and ask my father,” he said in a trembling voice. “I do not know what just happened, either, Stephen.” he put a hand to his face as he crawled off the bed. His legs felt as though they were going to give way under him. “I will be right back,” he said, before he pulled on a long silk robe and made for the door. Surely Sofu would know what this was?


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lord D learns that he and Stephen have bonded, and worries how Stephen will take the news. Also if enough people request it, there will be a sequel to this story about the birth of Sofu's baby, a nasty shadow creature, and the arrival of D's elder brother at the shop. If you want to read it, say so. I hope you all enjoyed this one. -DL

Lord D arrived at the door of his father and Daniel’s bedroom. He lifted a slim hand to knock on the door, not wishing to disturb the two men but desperate to understand the strange thing that had just occurred between he and Stephen. After a moment the door swung inward, to reveal a shirtless Daniel wearing only a pair of hurriedly pulled on jeans. “Hey, Lord D,” he said, running a hand over his close-cropped dark hair.”What’s the matter?”

“I need to speak to my father, Daniel,” Lord D replied urgently. “Please, it’s important.”

Seeing the expression on his face, the human nodded. He turned back into the room. “Hey, Sof, your son needs to talk to you,” he called over to the bed.

“What is it? My son, what is the matter?” Sofu appeared beside Daniel wearing a silk robe, staring worriedly at his son’s face.

The younger Kami spread his hands. “I would not disturb you, Father, but something very strange happened just now when I was with Stephen. I do not understand it, and I feel so very odd….” He trailed off, lifting his hands so that the elder Kami could see the way his aura glowed brightly. 

Sofu’s golden eyes widened perceptibly. He stared at his son’s aura, and then said urgently: "Tell me what happened in detail, my son. What were you and Stephen doing when this ‘strange occurrence’ happened?”

Lord D blushed faintly. “We were…erm…”

Daniel chuckled, and Sofu’s lips also twitched. “You need say no more, my son,” he reassured the younger Kami. “Not about that, at least. But tell me what you experienced afterward.”

Lord D began to explain what had happened when their eyes had met, and something had flashed out of his body and had sunk into Stephen’s, instead. Also, how he’d felt dizzy and amazingly full of energy, both of which states still persisted. Sofu listened in silence to this recitation, and when his son had finished, he reached out and sent a probe into the younger Kami’s body. He gasped at what he saw, and Lord D asked in apprehension: “What is it, Father?” 

Sofu’s golden eyes focused on his face again, and to his surprise, his parent smiled dazzlingly. “I have wonderful news for you, my son,” he said, as Daniel gave him a quizzical look. “You and young Stephen are now bonded.”

Shocked silence. Lord D’s mouth was gaping open. “B-But…How?!” he gasped. 

Sofu chuckled. “The usual way, my son,” he replied impishly. 

Lord D looked poleaxed. “Shouldn’t there have been some signs?” he protested feebly. “Shouldn’t I have felt my body changing to accommodate the bond?”

Sofu nodded. “Normally, yes, but since you were so confused and upset over your reaction to Stephen, I doubt that you realized that a great part of what was happening to you was the changes that an incipient boding brings to both your body and mind. I must admit I didn’t realize, either, because this was not the normal reaction of a Kami preparing to bond. But then, your situation was not normal, either, my son. You’d been so damaged by your past that it really couldn’t be. While this is a surprise – it is a welcome one. Isn’t it?” he looked rather uncertainly at his frozen offspring.

Lord D stirred, as his mind started to work again. “I - yes, it is. But I thought that you told me that Leon and Daniel had to accept the bond for it to be complete. Yet, Stephen had not done so. So why did the bond form between us?”

Sofu cocked his head. “That’s easily explained, actually,” he replied. “Stephen is very aware of the spiritual world, and most likely subconsciously felt the bond trying to form between you. And the truth is, he didn’t need to consciously accept it, for Daniel accepted ours when he was dying in the hospital. All Stephen had to do was accept it inside of himself without even being consciously aware of it, for the bond to be completed. Which is clearly what happened.”

Lord D looked dumbly down at his own hands, at the energy swirling through his aura. He couldn’t believe this. To finally emerge from behind his walls, to let someone into him – and that person turned out to be his bond mate! It seemed inconceivable. He was stunned by this turn of events. Then he remembered that he had to explain all of this to Stephen, for while the human had unconsciously accepted their bond, he had no idea what was going on otherwise. How would he react to learning about this? While it seemed that some part of him was happy to accept Lord D as his mate, would the rest of him be that way? What if he was angry or disturbed by the news? What if he felt trapped or imprisoned? He felt a chill go down his spine at the thought. But he had to explain this to the puzzled human still waiting in his room. He had no choice, since they were now mated for life(and his life, at that!). “I…must go and talk to Stephen,” he said to his father and Daniel. “I must try to explain this to him.”

Sofu touched his arm comfortingly. “I’m sure he will understand, my son,” he said gently. “Please don’t worry.”

“Yeah, Stephen’s a good kid. I’m sure he won’t have a problem with this,” Daniel agreed.

Lord D conjured up a wan smile for them both. “Thank you,” he said. He turned to go back down the hall to his own room, watched by both men.

Sofu sighed. “My poor son. He worries far too much,” the older Kami said. 

Daniel chuckled. “As if you didn’t worry when we were first getting ready to bond,” he pointed out to Sofu. “You were willing to die if I didn’t really want to go through with it, remember?” 

The Kami lifted his hands a bit. “No one wants a mate who hates them, and resents the choice they were forced to make,” he pointed out. “Especially not for the centuries the mated pair will be together. If there is a Kami Hell, that would be the scenario that would play out there endlessly.”

Daniel considered this. “Yeah, I could see that,” he agreed. “But does that happen often? Doesn’t the mating bond insure that you find not only the right person for you, but one that wants to be your mate, as well?” he asked.

Sofu sighed. “Not much is known about the bond, since it’s somewhat rare,” he replied. “And each case is unique. So I simply do not know.” He shook himself out of these thoughts with an effort. “In any case, I shall rejoice for my son’s happiness,” he added, his golden eyes aglow. “For no one deserves it more.”

Daniel, much taken with the beauty of his mate at this moment, reached out to capture the Kami’s still slim waist. “Yeah, let’s ‘rejoice’. We’ll have a party to celebrate, shall we?” he asked with a randy gleam in his amber eyes.

Sofu took a deep breath. “I believe that would be a good idea, Daniel,” he replied throatily. 

 

 

Lord D’s hand was trembling a little as he opened the door to his room. Stephen was sitting on the side of the bed waiting for him. The human turned to look at him as he entered, the teal-blue eyes staring at him. “Hey, babe, what’d your dad say?” he asked curiously. “Everything okay?”

The Kami hesitated by the door. “He explained to me what happened between us, Stephen,” he managed to say.

“Oh?” the human ran a hand over his hair as he eyed Lord D. “What’d he say it was?”

Lord D took a deep breath before replying, trying to work up the courage. But he had no choice; what was done was done. They were a mated pair, no matter how unhappy Stephen might be about it. “He said…that…do you remember when he explained the Kami mating bond to you, when you asked about the baby?” he abruptly changed tacks, feeling as though he were walking barefoot over hot coals. 

Stephen looked mildly surprised. “Yeah. He said that you guys mate for life. Right?”

The Kami nodded. “That is correct,” he said through stiff lips. “What we experienced a short while ago…you and I have bonded, Stephen,” he blurted out desperately. 

Silence. He braced himself for the human’s reaction, as Stephen blinked a bit, with an arrested look on his face. Then he stirred, saying: “Well, that makes sense, I guess.”

Lord D stared at him. He grinned suddenly, shrugging his shoulders. “Don’t look at me like you expect me to blow my top, babe. I always intended to spend the rest of my life with you, anyway. From the first moment I walked in the shop and saw you, I knew that. This is great, 'cause I can spend way more time with you, right? Don’t I live as long as you do now?”

Lord D felt shaky from relief, and an upwelling of pure happiness. “Yes. You will only die when I do. Which could be many centuries from now. But…are you entirely sure, Stephen? You really wish to be my mate?” he questioned uncertainly.

The human nodded vigorously. “Heck, yeah. Just think – I’ll get to see all of the cool new discoveries made in the field of Physics, maybe even get to go into space – and I’ll also get to be with you while I do that. Man, that is my definition of Heaven,” he replied fervently, with the sheer enthusiasm of youth. 

Lord D found himself smiling. “Well, if you’re sure,” he repeated, walking toward the bed. 

Stephen grinned at him. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life,” he replied. He grabbed Lord D around the waist, and drew him close. “I was already in love with you,” he added gently. “So how could I object to this? You rock my world, babe,” he kissed the Kami, showing how he felt. And to his astonishment, Lord D realized that he could feel Stephen’s emotions, as well. While his father had told him of this phenomenon, he hadn’t realized how strong it was. The human’s love, happiness, and desire poured into him, making his heart swell in his chest. He closed his arms over his mate’s broad shoulders, clinging to Stephen as their mouths mated as their hearts already had. 

 

The End


End file.
